VII: Singularity
by Vichade
Summary: Gamindustri stands on the precipice of change. Many wait in fear to see what happens with their once beloved leaders. Yet nobody could expect that the Shift Period was their last calm moment before the storm. Not even the young dimension traveler that appears in Hyper Dimension one day, and ends up getting involved in this maelstrom. [Following the VII timeline: 1st arc.]
1. Prologue

_**For new readers  
**_ **Welcome! :D  
This is my first work, so it may not be the best thing you've ever read, but I would really appreciate any sort of feedback from you.  
The following story takes place during the events of Neptunia VII, but by no means follows the exact events as in the game. It basically follows the timeline of VII, but the narrated events will be different. Now, I do wanna point out that it's only during the first "arc" of the game—the story following the next arc will be up once I'm done with this.  
I kept the Prologue pretty short since I didn't want to drag it out for too long, but I do hope it lives up to any expectation you may have. Should you have any questions, ask away in the comments—I'll try to respond to most of them.  
Oh, and I also want to point out that English is not my first language, and I'm not even from a country where that language is popular. So if you happen to notice any grammar or spelling errors, then you have my apologies.  
Anyway, I've stalled you for more than enough. Hope you enjoy! :P  
 _  
For old readers_  
** **Chapter rewrite!** **  
** **Phew, honestly glad I got to polishing and basically remaking this, since the original prologue was severely lacking and was not accurate with the game itself at all. All I can say's that I sincerely hope you enjoy this update as much as I prefer it over the original. Let's get this bre- Wait, wrong place..  
** **Let's get this prologue remake! Yeah, I guess that sounds right.**

* * *

A pair of olive eyes slowly fluttered open, only to be warmly greeted with the blazing sun that peeked its way inside the hotel bedroom. The wearer of those young irises grunted, still half-asleep as he obscured his vision from the dazzling light glancing through the blinds, using his left elbow as support and catching a glimpse of the reflection in a sliding mirror door, that found itself to the left side of the man's bed. Snoozy young adult, hideous brown bedhead, fairly thick eyebrows and a well-built upper body covered in an insanely compound, red-colored outfit.

At least, that's what an average person would pay attention to, had they seen Emril Von Liris at the moment.

"Lovely weather outside…" Emril murmured under his breath, lazily dragging his legs across the bed and letting them hang above the eucalyptus hardwood floor. As slothfully, he pushed himself up, sitting down on his bed like one would rest on a park bench. Wrists crossed and forearms resting on his thighs, right next to the man's kneecaps, the drowsy Von Liris kept his gaze at the mirror. Catching a glimpse of two of his hair locks intertwining with one another and forming something akin to a DNA spiral, he cracked an indolent smile, which soon disappeared. "If I wasn't greeted with blinding sunshine in my face, though, that'd be absolutely perfect…"

Taking a few moments out of his lazy morning, the male figure simply gawked at his reflection as he kept trying to make sense of the dream he saw this night. A sigh resonated in the room.

'That felt.. Way too real.' Emril thought, while scratching his bearded chin. Truthfully, his words were anything but far-fetched; staring at his empty palm, an almost curious look decorated his marked face. To be fair, though, the man was never the sort to jump to conclusions, so worrying others would have to step aside. If there was anyone to even worry, for that matter.

The way his dream began, however, was peculiar: there was a barren field, with a tree that's been long withered of all life, accompanied with a painful silence. The dreamer would find himself in the middle of nowhere, unable to look at anything farther than ten meters away: everything there was a massive blur. From time to time, he would hear voices, the tones and timbres of which he'd never heard prior, not to mention the feeling of cold often biting into his body with each distant callout. But, for the longest time, that was it: nothing would happen, nothing would move. It was like air around Emril was frozen.

But then someone emerged. The adult had never wished for something to be a lie more than then.

A lone figure would appear in the distance, standing on about the same length away from him as the tree, like a starving wolf waiting for the right moment to pounce on its prey. The silhouette's eyes were a flipswitch to the man, mercilessly immobilizing him the moment their gazes met. Staring at this mystical, menacing person felt like confronting the Grim Reaper himself, only instead of a dark cape and a scythe, there was long, berry blue hair tied into braids, paired with pale skin and that dreadful,

dreadful grin...

Von Liris blinked rapidly, arching his back and letting out a slightly suppressed groan. Surely, there were more important things to attend to, he would have to ponder about his bad dream while doing something productive. That's simply the kind of person Emril was.

Timidly nodding to himself, the awakened man reached for a black rubber band and purple brush, which he thought would find themselves on the bedside table. But, as his eyes jumped around the desk, he quickly realized that, for some reason, they were missing. And the cupboard top itself looked way dissimilar to what Em had seen yesterday.

A line formed in between his eyebrows, the confused adult darted his head up to scan the rest of the room. As it turned out, not only the bedside drawer suddenly decided to change while he was asleep...

The entire room was different.

"What the-..?" Emril's voice got stuck in his throat as he pulled open one of the drawers, a decently sized purple hairbrush rolled from inside the cabinet. Quickly, as if having remembered he had a plane departing in few hours, the panicked man started grooming himself, pacing around the room and eventually taking another glance at the sliding mirror door, already catching a glimpse of his eyes swirling into a daffodil yellow tint - a color of confusion, lack of trust and comfort.

He didn't care what he thought about before going to sleep, but staying dressed was one thing Von Liris was ready to thank himself for: waking up naked in a completely different place sounded like a bad idea, after all. While Emril is busy combing himself, let us sort out the attire he's wearing. His red gambeson was covered with buckles, two pairs of shoulder pads, and three grey pieces of cloth neatly hanging off his waist, a few small belts keeping the cloth in place. The man's forearms wore armored gloves, the hose on his lower body was plated with grey armor, and sharp-edged boots on his feet: they were so sharp, a simple football kick would leave a clean stab wound. Not only that, there was also a grey, pentagram shaped necklace on the young traveler's neck, showing its starry shape on his chest and holding on thanks to two little chains, which were wrapped around his neck.

Had Von Liris not been panicking at the moment, he'd make a cheeky comment regarding how everyone stared at his amulet and thought he was a sorcerer - and they wouldn't be too far from the truth. A faint cyan glow illuminated his right wrist, moments later the light gave being to a black rubber band. Without hesitation, Emril began gathering his brown hair in a hand, turning towards the window in the bedroom and deciding to peek through the glass opening. What he saw was a vibrant green field, with a mountain range coated in snow far, far away and a familiar castle standing proudly on the hill…

...Was what the man wished he could say at the moment. To his confusion and dismay, there was no green plain, no mountains overlooking the room he had woken up in—none of that. Instead, there was a city. A city, painted white and purple, with buildings tall enough to scrape the cloudless sky above, like a knife cutting through a sheet of paper. The trampled pathways were replaced with dark grey asphalt, and the daunting mountains simply vanished, like they never existed. However, there was something else.

And by the gods, it was the most intimidating piece of architecture Emril Von Liris has ever laid his eyes on. There was a tower to his right—a needle-shaped edifice that dwarfed any other building, standing proudly and almost arrogantly, like the many generations of people who had raised it were trying to reach the heavens, or to show the gods how determined and smart they were.

"Can you explain this one, Yvmus…?" The man muttered out, a provoking tone of voice escaping his lips. As unreligious as Emril has always been and would always be, there really wasn't anyone else he could rely on at the moment, except for a fictional deity with an absurdly long white beard who always sat on clouds and served as a God character to people. Well, to people in his world, at least.

Von Liris' hideous bedhead now combed and tied into a ponytail, he finally tore his gaze away from the window and quickly paced towards the hotel room's exit, determined to figure out how a quick nap in a tavern room threw him into what looked like a futuristic metropolis. In a matter of seconds, Emril reached the entrance door, not only readying himself to quickly open the door and leave, but also hoping no broken nose or black eye greeted him on the other side. He just had to push it open, and everything would be fine.. Hopefully. Maybe the door would be locked, and the man would have to crawl through the window, but that was pretty unlikely..

Ready to push himself against the door, the adamant traveler firmly grabbed the handle—instead of swooshing open, the wooden portal didn't budge, making Emril's shoulder smack furiously against it. Taking a few quiet seconds of standing still, as if trying to catch up on what just happened, a single thought popped into his head.

'Yep, window it is, then.'

Much like when approaching the locked door, Von Liris tenaciously made his way back to the former sightseeing spot, cracking a smile mid-distance and waving his head in disbelief. There were many things Emril had done before, but crawling out of the window to leave a hotel was most certainly

not one of them. Tripping over and falling face-first onto the pavement, even if it meant entertaining everyone around him, was nowhere near his bucket list, and neither was trying to escape a bizarre new world with a shattered nose.

Running a mental checklist on his way to the newfound exit, the man automatically put his right hand up, as if holding onto a shoulder bag strap. The reaction to that was a familiar faint glimmer of light, going up and around Emril's shoulder to then drift down his back, running quick like a deep river. The two ends of this cyan glow line stopped on the same level, and soon the container part was complete; the glow faded, leaving behind a regular grey-colored shoulder bag, its strap displaying a brown tint. A little nod of confirmation followed—Emril was fully prepared now.

Approaching the window almost too quickly and nearly ramming the glass panel, Von Liris grabbed the white window handle and twisted it, its end pointing to the right in an almost perfect ninety-degree angle from the aperture frame. With a reassuring click, the little door that prevented things from falling down into the Planeptune streets came open, a soft breeze brushed Emril's face. Forced to narrow his eyes because of the awfully bright building in front of him, which was also reflecting the sunlight, the man steadily crawled onto the windowsill, ensuring himself by firmly holding onto the frame.

He cautiously moved his head forward, peeking down into the lively streets from what seemed to be the second floor of the building Emril woke up in. The fall wasn't big, but it wasn't small either: landing without a roll would cost a broken leg, maybe two. Even if he had the ability to make things appear from thin air—like with the rubber hand in his hair, or the bag over his shoulder—or some other magical quirks, at the end of the day, he was still just a normal guy, only with two weird hieroglyphs on his face and a funny eye color that kept changing itself. A broken bone would still be a pain to deal with.

In any case, thoughts about violent traumatism and fractures would have to wait. There had to be someplace Emril could land without falling on anyone, but there was also a problem with locating that spot: most of the street was standing room only. Still squatting down on the snow white windowsill, he tried not to think about how ridiculous he must've looked at the moment, as well as mentally expressed his gratitude for no citizens staring his way.

"Wait for it.." Determinedly glaring down the lively street, the man let go of the right side of the window frame, as if preparing himself. The first few eventful minutes of his morning made Von Liris completely forget that he didn't really need to think through the leap: there was an ace up his sleeve, and boy, was it a flashy one. "Can you all like, move away and make a decent landing spot for me, people..? Thanks..."

A little gap was all it took. Emril's hand lit up like a bulb once again as he lunged himself through the window and outside, his eyes quickly jumping to the landing spot. With a throw of his right arm, any trace of the man figure turned into a bright cyan echo, later taking shape of a straight line heading towards the asphalt. The afterimage would halt right before making contact with the ground as Von Liris' silhouette morphed back in, with the man rolling on the ground before smoothly rising on his feet. A few glances around reassured him that there was no panic or confusion after Emril's "blink", except for a few confused people turning a solid three-sixty, trying to figure out what the weird noise was, or where it came from.

Fixing his outfit slightly, the traveler found himself in a maze, trying to sort out where to go. His wondering would come to a halt as his gaze fixated on the same daunting needle-shaped tower in the distance. 'I could probably try asking for help there,' he thought, his uncertain steps bleeding into a more quick and confident stride, the pace Von Liris has grown accustomed to by now. "Let's just hope this rabbit hole isn't a deep one." The man muttered to himself, slowly blending in with the rest of the crowd as he disappeared towards the terrifying edifice.

But, truthfully, Emril had no idea what he was dragging himself into.

He wasn't aware of the chain of events that would follow his appearance in Gamindustri, he didn't know the people he would meet, people he'd save from danger, the conflicts he'd face and the bottomless pits he'd willingly nosedive into. He had no clue what was coming at him.

 _ _Not a single clue.__


	2. A Girl Of Importance

'What even is this place?' or 'How the hell did I end up here?' would be two tiny wagons in Emril's train of thought, the wanderer still puzzled by the situation he found himself in. To his misfortune, it didn't take very long for his determined pace to dwindle, and turn back into something akin to how a scared student would approach their teacher after really messing up a test. Emril wasn't exactly known to be the scaredy type when facing conflict, but falling asleep in a tavern in the middle of a medieval village and waking up in a modern white metropolis the next day was definitely a cause of concern.

Von Liris has heard enough stories from either books or other people about how everything had a purpose and nothing happened without a reason, but, needless to say, figuring out the reason of his awakening in a city with a needle building literally stabbing the sky was a test from hell. But, any unneeded worry and panic would only make Emril's stepping stone crumble under his feet; in spite of the grim situation, he had to walk tall and stand strong, as well as keep his eyes on the prize—a safe path back home, to his world.

Snapped back to the foreign reality, the stranded man blinked, finding himself in an environment much different than the one he last remembered. The first sight to greet Emril was a wide well-trodden path under his feet, which led forward and seemingly looped around the majestic vibrant sakura trees, that looked more like big pink clouds resting on sturdy branches. With bushes and boulders surrounding the path, the sides of it were decorated with pedestals and giant glow sticks hovering above them, which provided lighting to any passerby late in the day.

Refreshing wind gusted, softly brushing against the man's beard as he took a few seconds out of his time to simply glance around, and to enjoy the scenery. Cheerful tunes and serenadas that birds sang resonated loudly, but peacefully. Soft step after soft step, as if treading on thin ice, Emril approached a newly located bench, and sat down, a relaxed breath escaping his parted lips. 'A few seconds of sitting in a park won't kill me,' He thought to himself. 'And I might as well think of what to do with a clear head.'

Automatically crossing his legs and leaning back, Von Liris' eyes fluttered closed as he arched his head back, starting to mentally unpackage the entire ordeal he was thrown into.

'So,' Emril's inner monologue commenced. 'I took a nap in a tavern, then I woke up in some super evolved futuristic city that's mostly colored purple and white. I didn't open any dimension gates in a really long time, and it's not like I'm currently in one of the dimensions my world has.. Was I somehow..? No, that wouldn't make sense. I sincerely doubt someone would really want to transport me into this world, and even if they did, why me and why here?'

Von Liris' legs recrossed again as he kept mulling over his current situation, swatting away any sakura blossoms that landed on him. '..Though, honestly? I don't think I quite need to figure out why I ended up here, but rather focus on getting out and going back home. But that's probably an even bigger fish to fry, unless the technology in this city's evolved enough to tackle dimensional travel. Really don't know what this metropolis's like, but if it's even possible, then asking the current leader - president or founder, I don't know - would probably be the best thing to do. I could probably try asking pedestrians for help, too, but just the thought of that smells fishy, and there aren't even any seas around. Well, isn't this just f-"

During his long thought session, Emril completely forgot about keeping his guard up, and left himself vulnerable to any pink-colored, sneaky, and small attackers in the vicinity. A small, but mischievous petal fluttered in the gentle breeze, soon losing its grip on the fine tree branch and starting to fall gracefully. It swirled and twirled in an elegant dance, swaying side to side like a baby crib, and, like a deft opulent spy girl sneaking into her target's private room, the sakura blossom landed right on the unsuspecting Von Liris' sniffer.

By instinct, Emril crossed his eyes, gaining a visual on the pink target that trespassed on the man nose. It didn't take long for him to craft the simplest, yet most effective riposte, and a stream of wind directed at the petal quickly pushed it away, parrying any attempts of invading the traveler's face. Confident in his victory, Emril leaned back again and closed his eyes, but he wasn't aware of the counter attack headed his way. That little pink devil has made a vicious comeback, calling upon the mighty wind to deliver a truly devastating raid. With the petal's stance ready, its partner in crime gave the silky leaf a sufficient push as the rose invader struck, scoring a perfect hit on the man's weak spot - his nose. Instantly acting to yet another, but more sensitive act of aggression, which took shape of an uncontrollable tickling, Von Liris firmly grasped the fragile, yet persistent petal, and flung it away. The blossom peacefully swayed its way down onto the concrete. The attack was countered successfully.

But not without its casualties.

"..A-Achoo!" Emril's loud sneeze came out more like an explosion, causing his body to shoot upwards from the backlash. After softly rubbing his face, the man leaned forward like he did back in the bedroom, giving him a slumped elderly aura.

…

"...Fun." Only after a tedious, exhausting battle with a sakura petal did Emril's former statement reach its conclusion. Moments after the destructive drawback, his posture recovered, giving the man a straight back and line of sight. It was then, however, that he took notice of his unconscious company: a little girl, ranging from twelve to fourteen years of age, slept cozily on the park bench in front of him. Donning a white parka dress that, even from her curled up position, looked oversized, the kid didn't twist and turn in her sleep, but her expression was showing hints of concern, like she was having a bad dream.

"Nepuuuu… Nepuuuu… Nepuuuu…" Went the little girl, the cute sounds that served as snores contrasting with her anxious set of features. Eyeing the drowsy tyke, Emril eventually tore his gaze away from her to look around instead. 'Surely, a girl like this would have her parents around here somewhere..' The traveler thought. 'Way to behave with a child, though. Leaving a little, sleepy, obviously weak girl all alone on a park bench, of all places? Whoever taught those people how to parent were pretty terrible..'

With a sigh, Emril shook his head, and leaned forward again. "Might as well do their job for them while they're away.. Gods, who would leave a child alone in a park? Are her parents out of their minds or something?.." Murmuring complaints under his breath, the man stuck his right hand out slightly. A familiar light was born, this time taking shape of a butterfly knife.

The balisong's grip was coated in a neat copper tint and decorated in a cobweb pattern, a little bronze spider resting on the edge of the bite handle. Its tang showed an almost rhombic shape, with another eight-legged bug carved out on it, meanwhile the business end of the fancy arm reflected an indigo blue color, which faded out into emerald green as it neared the cutting edge. The man's knife swiftly, but elegantly moved around as he toyed with it, letting out a resounding clink each time the handles and the blade hit.

In spite of having a sharp dagger flying around in his hands, Emril's eye was glued to the resting lilac-haired girl, wondering.

Just a few minutes ago, Von Liris was burning with determination, eager to get to the bottom of his mysterious transportation and find a way back home—and here he was, babysitting someone's kid. He couldn't just leave the poor thing behind, since she'd obviously be robbed clean or kidnapped, so there wasn't much else left to do except for guarding the girl until she either wakes up, or her parents return. Still, he couldn't help but feel envious: whoever this little girl was, she was still in her home world, her home dimension, probably even having a splendid dream at the moment..

'Alright, maybe not the last one.' Emril mentally—and later physically—crooked an eyebrow, still glaring down the obviously distressed tyke. "Maybe" was quite a bit of an understatement: she was stirring slightly in her slumber, mumbling incoherently in the meantime. Among the garbled noises, he could make out "cracks in the sky" and "won't have you pass out".

The man shook his head slightly, barely containing his pitiful smirk. Whoever this girl was, she really wasn't having it easy, huh?

Von Liris' eyes idly followed a weird object that suddenly flew from under the bench. It beautifully flipped through the air, like a freerunner would do a backflip after jumping off a ledge, and took aim for the snoozing, spiky-haired kid. It almost flew in slow motion, now that Emril took a closer look.. Also, didn't it look awfully similar to that thing he was flipping just now?

The man lowered his gaze. Seconds later, it sprung back up like a basketball bouncing away from the ground.

"Crap, crap, crap, crap..!" His set of features rapidly shifting to a more panicked one, the man threw himself off the bench, and reached for the tip of the knife's bite handle. To his dismay, all he got in response was his fingers slipping through it. Any moment now, the weapon would disturb the poor little kid's sleep by either smacking against her side, or—worst-case scenario—slip its cutting edge inside her body.

"Oh, you've gotta be kidding me!" Emril stuttered out in a panicked voice, it dawned on him that there was no point in literally running after the knife: it was too fast to catch up with. Finding himself in a pinch, Von Liris quickly curled up his right wrist into a fist, and lunged it forward, giving birth to a familiar cyan glow that illuminated said hand. In the blink of an eye, the man disappeared into a slender line of light, dashing across the park's purple pathway, and what could be called a car light's after effect cut off right before the tired kid's temporary bed. What really struck forward, though, was the gust of wind Von Liris carried with himself, strong enough to not only push her against the seat's back, but also flip her over. And right above the girl's closed eyes was a gloved hand, firmly gripping the fang that pointed itself downwards.

He simply stared at her with narrowed irises, too petrified to move.

'This girl is definitely going to wake up now,' Emril thought. 'She'll open her eyes, see me standing over her with a knife, scream for help, and I'll be thrown into a jail cell. That's totally about to happen. No denying it.'

"Mmmmmm…" The oblivious sleeper let out a surprisingly long moan, too asleep to notice the blade hanging above her. "Not now, Histyy… Gimme ten more minutes… Nepuuuu…" She finished, turning her back towards the agitated Von Liris.

Emril blinked.

...Alright, maybe he was wrong.

A horde of petals fluttered around, lifted by the strong wind his blink left behind, and as they started descending, a huge sigh escaped his lips like a boulder just fell off his back, the man's body losing its stiff posture. Too relieved to notice the breath pushing a blossom forward, the man batted his eyes a bit as the knife disappeared into nothingness.

"That was… Definitely something." Exhaling loudly again, through pursed lips this time, Emril fixed his posture and stood up straight, shooting a quick glance at the snoring (or "nepu"ing) female, who laid on her back. With a sight this endearing, Von Liris smiled endearingly, only for his grin to be washed away like a chalk outline on the concrete seconds after.

She quickly took notice of something silky on her nose, wrinkling it cutely and blowing away the petal. But the damage has already been done.

"Chu!" Went the little girl, her sneeze almost nonexistent compared to Emril's raucous sound from before as she laid lazily on the bench, eyes still shut. Her sudden awakening was enough to grab his attention, but all the man was greeted with was the kid crossing her legs and slowly sitting up, arching back after a good nap.

"Mmmm.. Taking a nap in the warmth of the Planeptune sun is the best..!" Stretching her arms a bit, she seemed completely oblivious to anything around her, the girl's face and voice dripping with pure satisfaction and cheer, if only for a few seconds. "Although, I kinda wish I didn't feel like I just had a super creepy dream…" Her eyes turned into lines upon addressing the irritating factor in her near perfect snooze, as she swabbed flakes of sleep out of her eyes.

The next moment, though, the kid became aware of someone's presence beside her. The girl's eyelids opened like the mouth of an animal, revealing a pair of amethyst peepers she instantly used to glance at the stranger.

"Err.. Hey, buddy," She started, "I really hope you weren't creepily staring at me in my most vulnerable state..." A tiny sweat trickled down the lilac-haired girl's forehead as she placed a finger at her chin. "But, if you were just strolling by and heard me mumble some weird thingies in my sleep, I'd ask you to please delete em from your memory."

Emril crooked an eyebrow, eyeing the awoken kid. It was to be expected to hear something of the sort from a girl like her, but he couldn't help but feel a little surprised anyway. "I kind of just got here, so I didn't creepily stare at you. And your sleeptalking wasn't even that weird. Anyway," the man continued, turning around to face the little kid. "Where are your parents? You should probably ask them about being left alone in a park, of all places."

"Ooh, my mom is the most adorable thing to ever exist besides Nepgear!" Ignoring Von Liris' sudden head tilt, the spiky-headed kid went off on what could only be described as a long stargazing session: "She always wears cute comfy sweaters that you just gotta snuggle, and she always makes the most delicious and perfect pudding in the entire wo- Wait, Nepu!" The man flinched from the girl's sudden yelp, spectating her as she sprung up on the bench and pointed a finger at him from above. "I don't have a mom! And I don't need a mom!"

Two blinks later, Emril's gaze fixated on the girl despite having her finger right in front of his nose bridge, he slowly raised his right hand and carefully shoved the kid's own away. "...Are you sure you're not just trying to escape your ma's home because you're "old enough to survive on your own"?"

She recoiled a bit, seemingly offended by the question. In spite of that, the girl's over the top confidence didn't dwindle in the slightest. "Hehe, you don't pay attention to stuff in these parts, do you?" Puffing out her chest, she gave off vibes of pride and highness. "I, in fact, am old enough to be your grand grand grand grand…" With a tiny nod of confirmation—as if trying to keep track of the amount of times she said the same word—the kid continued confidently. "..Grand grand mom. Incredible stuff, huh?"

Instead of agreeing that a little girl is as old as his ancient predecessor, the man couldn't help but take her words as nothing but child's play, and the theory about this kid running away from home made the most sense so far. "I'm not that young to have a fourteen-year-old ancestor. And if you're so old, you should probably know from life experience that sleeping outside while looking like an innocent harmless kid is most likely gonna cause trouble." Now in the playful mood, Emril grinned cheekily, crossing his arms in a confident stance.

Several rapid blinks later, like an android malfunctioning while processing newfound information, the girl slumped down with a ridiculed facial expression. "Dude… Next time, tell me you're from a different world. You're totally not local, are you?"

"Nope," Von Liris replied quickly. "I was actually wondering if you have some sort of di-"

A loud smack resonated nearby. Emril perked his head like a cat, the remaining words stuck in the pit of his throat.

"Aaaah! What was that noise?!" The youngster jumped at the sudden bang, her eyes turning into white circles with a bold black outline. "If I didn't know any better, I'd say that sounded like something plastic slamming against the concrete!"

"Talk about good hearing.." The man commented, scanning the direction the voice resounded from. Afterwards, he pointed a bit to the left from the park's main concrete path, his finger's trajectory headed for a smaller, but well-trodden road. "Pretty sure it came from over there."

"Hmm…" Peeking around with her orchid-colored eyes, the girl's finger laid on her chin as she seemingly mulled something over. "..Maybe we should go take a look."

"Wait, "we"?" Von Liris turned towards the little kid, a noticeable line in between his eyebrows and a voice devoid of any certainty, like he was just told the sky is green. "We don't even know each other."

"Name's Neptune!" Both proudly and hurryingly, like an eager kid about to drag their mother into a new toy store, she called out and stepped closer to the narrow pathway. "There, you know my name now, so you're stuck with me forever!"

"Wait, slow down, Nep-"

"Now c'mon, let's go!" Neptune hopped up slightly, turning around and moving her arm in a beckoning way. "We got detective stuff to do!"

"Okay, okay, hold u-" Emril's voice cut off as the jumpy little girl turned around and bolted into the tight pathway surrounded by trees. Shaking his head and slipping out a quiet "Oh, goddammit..", he ran after her.

* * *

And so, here we find our heroine in a spooky back alley, shrouded in darkness in the middle of the afternoon…

"...Yeah, this isn't weird at all."

"What are you doing..?" Neptune's newfound companion crooked an eyebrow as he slowly followed the carefree girl into a dark vennel, catching a glimpse of her stepping around casually and almost idly, like this sort of thing was daily for her. "Are you an amateur writer or something? Because that was.. Pretty terrible."

"Hehe, your critique doesn't see beyond the fourth wall, buddy." The girl wearing a white parka dress answered proudly, her voice dripping with confidence as she peeked above her shoulder at Emril, seemingly ignoring his confused mug.

"..And what does that have to do with anything?"

"Everything has to do with anything when it comes to the protag of all protags!"

A little smile appeared on his bearded face, which made him look like a proud parent happily watching over their kid play and run around. "See, you didn't even say a single normal thing since you woke up. It was all "I am the protagonist of all protagonists!" or "You know my name, so you're stuck with me forever!"." Quoting the little girl, Emril tried—and failed—to mimic the proud and smug tone of voice he had heard from Neptune. He held his hands behind him, which made the man look like her personal bodyguard or caretaker. "Are you talking in some special code or something that everyone comes up with as kids?"

"Hehe, you got that right!" After a slight turn, she had a clear view of her newfound companion, smiling a different, more prideful and lordly grin. "There's even a dictionary someone made that helps people understand me. Mad props to the guys who pulled that off, though…" Neptune's voice bled into silence, with the kid making a curious face and placing a finger at her chin. "Now, where did that smack come from..?"

"Why… What's…" Finding himself completely bewildered by the dictionary's existence and by the complete lack of sarcasm in her voice, Emril later waved a hand, like you would to swat a fly away. "Ah, whatever. People're weird. Anyway, I wanted to ask something."

"Shoot, Nep is all ears." Neptune replied, slowly stepping deeper into the darkness that clouded the alleyway.

"I wanted to know if you people had some sort of dime-"

"—Someone, save me…"

"Huh!?" Eyes turning into white circles once more, the lilac-haired girl jumped as a sudden female voice seemingly came through the speaker of a distorted radio transmitter. "Is that a voice?!"

"Sure is.." In a more calm, but obviously disturbed reaction, Von Liris slowly began searching around the back alley, in hopes to find anything that made the distress call. His voice was quiet and slow, as if to try and avoid making too much noise. "This a part of your heroic quest, Neptune?.."

"—Someone, anyone… Save me… Save… The Zero Dimension…"

Emril's eyebrows noticeably narrowed as the next part of the message was delivered, the level of unease inside him spreading like the smell of perfume in the wind. "What the hell is she saying?.."

"Hellooo? Someone there?" Twisting and turning quickly, similar to a dog chasing its tail, Neptune tried anything she could to locate the source of the call for help. With a slightly trembling voice, she called out: "C'moon, answer me!"

But there was no reply.

"That's so weird…" The little girl felt a little sweat strolling down her childlike face as she turned her eyes into little horizontal lines, quite agitated. "I could've sworn I heard it coming from around here." Soon after, Neptune's purple peepers started jumping around the dark narrow back alley, she briefly searched around with her eyes before finally glancing at Emril, who was standing on one knee and moving his hands, seemingly twirling something around. "You got something, big guy?"

"Oh, you can say that again." He nodded, quickly getting up and letting Neptune take a gander at what he was spinning around just a second ago—a little rectangular device, mainly showing off a white and grey tint with an orange triangular button and a swirl mark, which had a little dot near the end and three miniature lines sticking out of the spiral. With two round, grey-colored buttons near the edge of the device and what looked like four ports on the side, it was easy to assume what Emril managed to find. "Looks like a game console to me, but I honestly can't be sure.. Also, it's Emril."

"Hold your communication device, Emr.. Emi.. Bleh, your name is hard, I'll call you Emmy!" The girl quickly responded to his introduction, before quickly plucking the game console lookalike from his hands. "Now let a sophisticated game sommelier take a look at this thing..." Earning a sigh from her bearded ally, Neptune repeated after him: she spinned and turned the console like a teenager would check if they fully solved the Rubik's cube. To her surprise and slight dismay, the little piece of technology didn't strike a resemblance to anything she saw or played on before, which left her completely clueless as to what games or software this device even supported. "Who even makes these?.."

"Maybe someone dropped it from one of those windows above? Though, I'm really not sure most pieces of technology would really survive a fall this long." Emril's head arched back, his eyes squinted as he searched for an open window or anything of the sort. "Hmm… All of them are closed, so I doubt someone threw it out… Think we should ask people about it, Neptune?"

"Hmm… Well, since people here like rare console stuff, I guess I'll just take- Err, I mean, deposit this… At the Basilicom… For… Safekeeping! Yeah! This thing's owner will come pick it up later!" The girl confidently nodded to herself, confirming her thoughts.

"Nep, we can get this thing back to its owner right now," He replied, glancing up at the apartment windows again. "We just need to find wherever they live in here, and we should be alri- Err.. Neptune?"

The moment he looked down, there was nobody around.

Emril sighed.

"..So this is how it's gonna go."

* * *

 **This is also getting an update! Some of you probably figured that most of the things in the original chapter... didn't really make sense. Well, that or I just wasn't happy with it.. But anyway! The chapter is updated now, and I hope you enjoyed it because I honestly had fun rewriting this.  
** **Until next time, people. :P**


	3. The Wind Walker

**Last hour of the month (i hope).. Now I can say that I've uploaded 2 chapters in one month.. Phew.**  
 **Sorry, the end may seem a bit rushed, but I wanted to get this out before the deadline hit. I hope you understand :p**

* * *

"Uh huh… Right.. Yeah, I see.. Mhm.. Okay, thanks. Have a good day."

Emril turned to the right and started walking again, his hands wrapped around his chest. A thoughtful, almost mazed expression overtook his face, as he scanned his environment with narrowed, indigo-colored eyes.

"This is ridiculous.." The man muttered to himself. "Fourth person in a row to go haywire like a not-all-there fan girl that just met her idol.. How am I supposed to figure anything out like this?"

A sigh followed. "It's okay. I'll figure something out, I always do."

At this rate, Em's feeling of fear and confusion began to grow into ire, resentment. With there being one goal in his mind, the only thing that was left for him is to accomplish said objective. But with all those people not proving to be helpful in the slightest, it was almost starting to seem like they were doing it on purpose, in order to stall his progress. It was frustrating, to hear the same reaction time and time again, without getting any sort of hint as to what Emril should do next.

And yet, in spite of that, he knew he had to calm down, and keep a clear mind. Feeling indignated would do nothing but complicate the situation for him, perhaps end up getting him into trouble. All he wanted to do was to get out of there. Raging over something as miniscule as a similarity in people's reactions would be a drop of fresh water in a salt sea. In other words, a complete waste.

Emril's train of thought came to a halt, as his eyes landed on a certain brunette that stood out among the crowd. The girl's hair displayed a bow that had a leaf-like design to it, and her eyes showed an emerald green color. She wore a black choker around her neck, and a blue coat that not only covered her wrists, but also went down to somewhere around her knee level. Around the person's waist was an unbuckled black belt, and the coat itself was unbuttoned, revealing her black shirt and shorts, which were quite short: only just reaching halfway down her thighs. The female also wore blue boots that almost reached her knees, and underneath said boots were black socks. The beetle-crusher itself demonstrated black laces going in an X pattern, with a white-colored surface beneath the shoestrings. At the moment, the brunette's gaze was locked onto a phone in her hands, which looked to be a flip phone. Of note, though, was that her fingers were touching the screen instead of where the keyboard was supposed to be.

"Hm.. Maybe she knows something?" Emril mumbled under his nose, gazing at the mysterious figure with narrowed eyes. "She doesn't seem like the type to freak out.. I hope."

Maybe she wasn't worth asking? Looks can be deceiving, and, perhaps, the perceptive and almost alarming aura was just a facade, a charade to hide her fangirly attitude? What if she was the person the man needed to talk with, but decided to leave instead? Would he have to find her again and ask her, and then realize it wasn't worth the trouble? Would it be worth the trouble, though, or would the effort be gone to waste?

Shaking his head, Em threw his arms in the air, letting them smack against his hips. "Whatever, last attempt."

Forcing himself through a crowd of people, Em started heading towards his newfound objective, not noticing any changes in her expression. 'That phone has got to have most of her attention.. Good sign, phone addicts are usually very quiet about everything.' A thought popped into his mind, two or so meters away from the girl.

At shoulder grabbing range, Emril's right hand rose up, with him leaning to the right and pointing towards her. "Uh, two seconds, please?"

"Hm?" The person's head perked up, her green eyes jumping towards the man. "Oh, hey, what's up?"

"Uh, so I'm looking for a girl," He started talking, placing a hand just above his waist level, as if trying to show the missing girl's height. "About this tall, lilac spiky hair, carefree attitude, carrying some sort of game console on her. You, by any chance, saw her run by?"

'Please don't freak out, please don't freak out, please don't freak out…'

"Oh, you met Nep?" Her eyes widened. "That's pretty cool. She h-"

"Oh, _finally_!" Upon feeling a boulder fall from his shoulders, Emril's eyes darted wide open, and his head arched back, with him slumping his shoulders down. "Someone who doesn't freak out!"

"Alright, calm down." The brunette interrupted. "You're making a scene right now."

"Khm, right, sorry about that." He blinked, before standing up straight, and looking at the girl again. "So, uh, did you see her?"

"I can't just tell that to a random stranger." She retorted with narrowed eyes, flipping her phone closed and hiding it in her pocket. "Is there something you need from Nep?"

"How do I say this.."

Emril had to come up with something. There was no way she would be interested in hearing the full story about how he appeared in this world, but his response still had to be of some validity. But, how would he shorten his explanation without making it sound preposterous? There was no way in a thousand years that she would believe him if he was abrupt about it, would she?

"Hello?"

Oh, whatever!

"Fine, let's put it this way. I woke up here a few hours ago or so, and I have no idea what this place is. I've asked everybody about that girl, and everyone short-circuited, like 'Oh my goodness, you met our CPU!' or 'Are you friends with CPU Purple Heart!?' - Mind you, that was very annoying to go through - and now, since I _somehow_ heard that girl is a 'CPU' or whatnot, I wanna know where she is because I need her to he-"

"Okay, okay, one at a time!" The girl called out and placed her hands in front of her, striking an almost defensive pose and stopping Emril's ramble dead in its tracks. A puzzled look in her eyes followed. "You don't know where you are, even though you woke up here a few hours ago? And you're looking for Nep because you think she can help you figure something out?"

"In essence, yeah." The man nodded, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Right.." She placed a finger on their chin, her pupils jumping towards the bright blue sky above them. "You said Nep had a game console with her, so she must be heading towards the Basilicom. Unless she's already there."

"The Basilicom, right. Thanks a lot."

"No problem. Anyway, I'll be going now. Take care." The brunette reached for her phone again, flipping it open and turning around, starting to depart without a second thought.

"You too." Emril's mouth curled into a smile, with the dimension tripper shooting a glance at her before turning around, and taking a few steps in the contrary direction to hers. At one point, however, the man found his feet frozen in place, and his head turned around, to look at where the two were just now.

That was pure luck, in all honesty. Managing to find a girl that would tell him at least something of value was an enormous fluke. But, how was he going to get himself into that 'Basilicom' she mentioned? It shouldn't prove to be problematic to sneak in, unless it's that sky-scratching needle of a building in the center of the entire city. Should he ask her again, just to make sure? But, even if his next stop was that colossal tower, - which, to be blunt, seemed to be the case - how would he get in? There was no way sneaking in was an option, and asking the guards to let him in wouldn't prove to be of any help whatsoever, as well…

Hold on, is that brunette acquainted with the leader? Everybody else just called her 'CPU Purple Heart' or 'CPU', whereas that girl called her 'Nep'.. And that's the short version of the girl's name, Neptune. Then comes in the fact that everybody else hit the ceiling like there's no tomorrow, and she stayed calm about it, as if someone only mentioned a friend of hers..

 _Maybe she could help him get into the tower?_

Before long, Emril found himself tracing back the distance he gained from where the event took place, in hopes to catch up to the brown-haired girl. Like a silver bullet piercing through the crowded mass of people, he closed in on his newfound target, and before long, the girl was close enough to touch. Shoving a few people within the crowd away, as if to clear his path, the man caught up to his potential ticket inside the edifice.

"I hope you don't mind if I ask you for a favor."

* * *

" _Hey, Nepgear! Lookie look! I found a super cool, vintage game console!"_

" _Oh, really? Maybe we can try playing it later. Also, welcome home, Neptune. I'm glad you made it back safe and sound."_ " _Neptune! Where in Gamindustri have you been? This is not the time to be goofing off! I will not forgive you today!"_ …

* * *

"..You've got to be kidding me."

"No, no, wait!" Emril followed after the annoyed brunette, the amount of people around the two decreasing, thus making it easier for the man to do so. "You don't understand!"

"Listen, I don't even know who you are!" She turned her head towards him, with a look of pure frustration in her eyes. "Do you really think I'll let a complete stranger into the most important building in the entire nation?"

"Okay, look, I know this looks fishy," He spoke again, this time with a much different tone than before: instead of sounding panicked and worried, the man's voice was dripping with sobriety, candour. "But you need to realize what situation I'm in right now. Trust me, I wouldn't be asking you about this if there wasn't a good reason for me to do that." Em put a hand on his chest, leaning forward a little to make sure the eye contact between him and the girl was maintained.

"How can I be sure of that?" But he was cut short, once again. "Again, I don't know who you are, and how am I supposed to believe someone if I don't even know them? For all I know, you could be trying to rig a recorder or a hidden camera to spy on the CPUs."

"I'll have to disappoint you, but _I don't care_ about that." Right on the spot, Emril's voice grew jarring, almost harsh, as the lad straightened himself out and pressed his left fist against his waist. "I'm not the person that likes repeating myself, but I wouldn't ask someone to get me into that place unless I had a good reason. Let me explain everything so that you get the entire picture, and maybe - hopefully - reconsider at least something."

A moment of silence followed suit.

* * *

" _Neptune, listen to me! We're in the midst of Gamindustri's Shift Period, and this is simply not the time for brash behavior."_

" _Ah, c'mon, Histy, lighten up, it's just a little.. Shift.. Period.. Wait. What is that again?"_ " _Even though I had explained it so thoroughly… I will explain it once again, so please, listen. The CPU Shift Period is the season when citizens begin searching for new CPUs to follow, instead of those already presiding. We're currently in the window of time when rumors about the CPUs will start circulating, tarnishing their reputations. In fact, at this very moment, the other CPUs have been working relentlessly to prepare specialized teams to counter any allegations."_

* * *

Emril gazed in anticipation, admiring the pensive expression that had overtaken the girl's face, with her arms crossed on her chest. At this rate, the look in her eyes had the ability to burn through steel, and the aura around her grew sharper, and almost minacious. For the traveler, speaking one more word or even letting out a sound felt like walking on thin ice.

Yes, he knew being patient was the key to accomplishing certain things at times. Yes, he knew that being impatient would do him no good. Yes, he knew that sometimes all he could do was play the waiting game..

But goodness gracious, he did _not_ like doing that.

More often than not, few minutes of waiting turned into hours and hours of expectation, which oftentimes ended up with Emril throwing time around as if it was confetti, without even realizing. And wasting time was the least favorite thing for the man to do, period.

Well, on the other hand, in situations like the one he had found himself in at the moment, waiting was the best, most logical thing to do. Rushing or acting impatient around the brunette that very well could be his savior felt moronic. If anything, he should be thankful he even found her in the first place!

"What is it with me, always running into the weirdest people..?" The lingering quietude was broken by none other than the brunette herself. "Whatever, I'm listening."

"So let's start from the top." Emril didn't take too long to begin reciting what had occurred to him, in a slow and somber voice. "I'm not local, and I don't even know what this place is. It just so happened that I woke up in a hotel room a few hours ago, and saw this city outside the window. I decided that it was time to go out there and figure everything out, so I entered a park. Which, by the way, is where I saw Neptune."

"Go on…"

"So I just stayed there, thought about what I need to do, then heard her waking up. Just as I was about to ask her for help, she heard something falling down. I also found it pretty weird that her hearing is _that_ good, because there's no way I'd figure out if it was something plastic falling on concrete. But that's pretty trivial right now, and I don't wanna get sidetracked. So, she finds that console and literally disappears, I don't even have the time to ask her anything."

"Uh huh."

"That brings me back to the city streets. As I already mentioned, I asked around four people, and all of them just lost their minds. Then I meet you, and, well, here we are."

Emril scratched his forehead. "So, what I said about being foreign? You're gonna think I'm lying, but I may or may not be a bit of a dimension tripper. And the reason why I'm asking you for help is because I need to meet this nation's leader and ask her for help. And, since you seem to be acquainted with her, I figured it'd be best to ask you to help me get into the tower."

"Hmm.."

"Pleeeease?"

She cupped her chin, once again looking lost in thought.

Back to the waiting game it is, then.

* * *

" _Pfft! I'm totally fine! This is Planeptune we're talking about, Histy! My people love me! Besides, isn't Noire the only one who's made an actual team? Vert has that MMO tourney and Blanc has Rookie Novelist Awards coming up soon."_

" _...Dear me. Why is it that all the CPUs lack a mature and appropriate sense of danger?"_ " _Hey! Don't just lump me in with those lazy idiots, Histoire!"_

" _Oh, by the way, this girl is Noire, the CPU of Lastation, the nation next door. She's a friendless, lonely soul.. Aren't ya, Noire?"_

" _You shut up! I'm not lonely!"_

 _..._

* * *

Two brown-haired individuals entered what seemed to be one of the more populated areas of the city, with neon signs glowing next to the roads and glass tubes hanging right above them. Nothing seemed out of place, aside from the impending size of Emril's next destination: the enormous tower, which now was not too far away. Having looked up towards the sky, Em verified that the top of the construct indeed pierced what little clouds there were above their heads.

He understood big buildings, but _how long did it take to build that thing?!_

How many other big constructs could fit under that tower's roof? What was all that space used for? Did the leader hire tons of workers to help her work or did it just stay empty for gods know how long? Or maybe that girl had such a huge collection of game consoles that they wouldn't fit in one room? Wait, how would that make sense? That would mean she had to buy every version of every console that ever existed to even fill a fraction of that sp-

"Alright, fine."

Oh, right, he knew he had forgotten something..

 _Did she just say yes?_

"I'll ask Nep if you can come in." The brunette pointed a finger at him. "But if you try doing anything dodgy, you're done for. Understood?"

A wave of alleviation coursed through Emril's body, with his mind being set at ease and the man breathing a sigh. "That's a boulder off my back.. I really owe you one, miss.."

"IF." She replied.

"IF, right." The man nodded to himself, before placing his right hand in front of him, as if asking for a handshake. "Emril Von Liris."

* * *

…

" _That's just the way the cookie crumbles. Anyway, Nep. Jr., think you can fix this console? It looks like it's pretty broken."_ " _I'm not sure I can, it doesn't look like technology I'm familiar with… May I inspect it for a moment, big sis?"_ " _...It cannot be helped. It appears I will be constructing a solution of my own for Planeptune's safety yet again."_

 _..._

* * *

After exchanging names, silence lingered between the two, with IF's gaze locked to the Basilicom nearby, and Emril staring at his surroundings with bated breath. It seemed that the amount of thoughts clogging his mind kept him occupied enough to pay no attention to the city surrounding him. Now that IF said she'd help him, he was freed of any worry, and the bizarre new world didn't seem as frightening now.

If anything, it was gorgeous.

The color palette - while still a bit too heavy on the eyes - was flawless for a futuristic city, the lush green parks placed throughout the metropolis were a perfect addition, the fluorescent neon signs above shops and around roads blended in almost too well with the rest, the pipes hanging above the roads were work of a genius, - if they were a means of transportation, like Emril thought they were - and what looked to be the megalopolis' main building, now that the man was in front of it, was one impressive architectural feat: If the tower seemed to be huge from far away, from up close it looked like a construct that would reach the heavens, disturb the gods above.

Just how many workers died while building all this? A few generations must've passed, for sure.

"You're a dimension traveler, right?"

"Huh?" IF's question caught Emril off guard, with his head darting towards her in an instant. "Oh, yeah. Why?"

"Can't you just travel back to your dimension on your own?"

"I wish that was the case. But that's not really how it works."

"Oh?" The brunette tilted her head. "Wait, what do you mean?"

"Okay, so, this is how I think it works. Imagine a world. Just an average world, nothing too out of the ordinary." The man placed his hands in front of himself, looking at IF and continuing his explanation. "And that world has several dimensions. Different versions of the same world, if you may. I only have the ability to traverse through a world's dimensions…"

"..But this world is different from yours." She finished his sentence.

"Exactly. So yeah, I can travel this world's dimensions, but I want to go back to my _world._ Not my _dimension_."

"I see. Wait, why do you thi-" The girl never finished her sentence, as she glanced somewhere she shouldn't have.

On the side of Emril's face were markings, glowing a little in the sunlight. The lines carved into his temple and his cheek formed a pair of hieroglyphs, which laid fresh on his snow white skin. Jagged, rude, heavy on the eyes they were, disturbing the smooth flow of his complexion.

Were those scars? But who would use such precision to leave a wound on somebody's face? What did those hieroglyphs mean? Did he know the meaning behind the symbols?

"Welcome back, lady IF."

..That question would have to wait.

* * *

…

"— _Anyone… Please, save us…"_ " _Huh? N-Neptune, did you hear that?"_ " _Oh, I knew I heard something earlier! Good work, Nep Jr., where's it coming from?"_ " _This is gonna sound weird, but I think the voice came from inside this console.."_ …

 _Click._

* * *

The elevator door slid closed, before starting to move up the shaft at an unhurried pace. The wind walker stood in the center, her arms crossed on her chest, foot tapping against the floor. With a meditative look, her eyes scanned the vigorous cityscape seen through the elevator's window, thoughts clashing inside her head like two starving wolves fighting for food.

For some reason, she couldn't stop thinking about the encounter that got her here in the first place. If anything, there was something off-putting about that man.

It was common knowledge that she wasn't the one to trust strangers. And there was no good reason for her to trust him, either. How can she know for a fact that he's not making up some story to then try and lure Neptune out? She was never obliged to help him. She never _had_ to.

So why did she decide to agree, and get herself into this mess?

IF sighed.

It's not like she had the ability to get herself out of it at this point. And, knowing how carefree Neptune is, the man had a much too big chance of entering the Basilicom. This was such a headache…

"...Heeeeeeey! So, uh, you see, I actually changed my mind, and now I'm not gonna help you! _Hee hee!~_ " The brunette muttered in a high pitched tone of voice, dripping with silliness. Making sure she was alone, the girl shrugged off the sudden goofiness surge, putting a hand on her hip.

On the other hand, the idea of lying to him about Neptune not letting him in didn't seem so outlandish. He didn't know what she was like in reality, did he? For all he knew, she was a carefree, naїve girl on the outside alone, and, in reality, was a strict overlord that ruled Planeptune under her iron fist.

…

Now that sounded outlandish.

* * *

…

" _..Oh!"_ " _Yipes! What in the what is this!? Why are we getting swallowed up in our own room?!"_ " _Oh no! What should we do!?"_ …

* * *

 _Beep! Beep! Beep!_

"There's my stop."

Turning around and stepping outside the elevator, IF entered the much familiar corridor, which lead to the tower's living quarters. The brunette examined her surroundings, before starting to walk rightward, a clacking sound resounding in the hushed halls each time her boots contacted the floor.

As if on autopilot, the phone strap was opened and its contents were in her hands, emerald colored eyes scanning the content on the bright screen: The Guild's website "Quests" section, Planeptune news sites, her old chat logs with friends were some of the things she glanced over, in an almost robotic fashion.

At one point, IF's finger froze in place, her eye movement came to a halt, eyelids narrowing.

Something was afoot.

The air felt too stiff, too stagnant for Planeptune's Basilicom, not to mention that it wasn't as alive as it was on the regular. No chatter, no Neptune playing around like her cheerful self, no Histoire scolding Neptune for doing that, no Nepgear pleading Neptune to do at least a bit of her work.. Nothing. It was all quiet. _Too quiet._

…

Out of nowhere, IF felt her hair fluttering in the air, her long blue coat following suit. The sudden gust of wind felt like a soft push, something that could have helped her snap out of thinking something bad was going to happen. Which, to her dismay, didn't seem to work at all. If anything, the blow brushed away any thoughts of ease or comfort.

The breeze came from inside.

"What the.."

The phone was strapped back and put away, with IF's walking speed increasing. On her way to the sisters' room, she rose up her right hand, and pulled the sleeve back, revealing a bit of her forearm. Beneath the admiral blue cloth was a katar, attached to the girl's arm in a way that made it possible for her to be ready for combat after just throwing her arm to the side: Unsheathed, the dagger's handle was not too far from the girl's inner elbow, the cutting edge only just reaching her wrist.

At least, she was ready even for the worst-case scenario.

 _Yipes!_

IF's head darted towards the origin of the distressed shout, eyes widened in surprise.

Was that Neptune?

Another powerful gust of wind let IF know that there was no time to waste. Pulling her sleeve down, the brunette started running towards her destination, hearing more cries on her way there. Judging by what she heard, Neptune wasn't the only one in trouble, but it seemed that Nepgear was involved as well.

Where was the wind coming from, though? IF has seen a lot during her work as a Guild agent, but strong blows of wind inside a building with no windows open and no fans working? That was new.

Whatever, the main thing at the moment was to make sure Neptune wasn't getting herself into trouble, again.

In the midst of her worried thoughts, the girl's pace grew faster, every step connecting harsher against the carpet below her feet. Her footsteps started growing repetitive, almost rhythmic, only getting interrupted by periodic yells of the Planeptune sisters, and strange sounds of howling wind that made her think of there being a wormhole in the room.

 _Aaaaaaaah!_

"Nep!" IF ran into the door that led to Neptune's room, pushing it open and stumbling a little, stopping dead in her tracks not too far away from the door. The girl leaned down, pressing her palms against her knees, catching her breath after running such a distance.

After a few seconds of standing still, her head rose up. "Nep, is everything o-"

The room was empty.

"...kay.." IF muttered out, straightening herself out and scanning the room. An annoyed grunt followed. "Just wonderful."

Shaking her head, the girl turned around, pulling her phone out again. "I'm gonna ask Histoire to help me sort this out.."

…

 _A lone console rested upon the floor._


	4. Nursing Trouble

**Ha! Bet you didn't expect an early upload! X)  
** **My stream of consciousness decided to be generous this time, so I ended up finishing this chapter earlier. I sure hope it's good, because most of the time, if someone does something fast, it turns out to be pretty mediocre at best.  
** **But enough of my babbling, enjoy the chapter. Much love to everyone who's supporting it so far 3**

* * *

"..."

"..."

"..Man, she's taking a while, isn't she?"

"Hm?" A guard turned their head, to see Emril leaning against the bridges parapets, his crossed forearms pressing against the barrier's surface. "Did you say something?"

"Nothing serious, don't worry." The man's head turned towards the watchman, with a smile on his face. "Just me wondering what IF's up to up there."

"Hm, alright."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"Gah, this is a nightmare." The guardsman rubbed his eyes with one hand. "Just standing in front of the door without actually getting to enter the tower where someone you put all your faith in lives?"

Emril's laid his head on top of his arms, standing over the barrier. "I'm bored as much as you are, buddy."

"In particular, when there's nothing to guard, because most of the time people don't even walk the bridge, let alone approach the door."

"Wait, really?" The man's head darted back to the security guard, with a puzzled expression. "You'd think people go here all the time to take pictures or selfies near this colossal."

"You'd be surprised, sir." The sentry shrugged. "The locals are either too scared to walk here because, well, it's the CPU's home, or they just.. I don't know. But they just don't go here. I hardly get to talk with anyone aside from another security guard, who's rarely even assigned to watch the door like I am."

"Okay, I keep hearing this 'CPU' title all the time, and I'm dying to know what it means." Emril's sudden statement caught the guard off guard (no pun intended). "Is it how people call leaders here or what? Just, what does it mean in general?"

"Oh, uh, it's a long story. The Industri Keepers have a good book describing how it all works, so you can give that a read. But, well, if you want a brief explanation, then.."

The Basilicom door swooshed open, with a brunette stepping out of it, holding a phone. Her emerald eyes jumped to Emril at the parapet. "Bad news."

"!?" IF's sudden appearance made the guard jump. "M-Miss IF! I didn't hear you!"

"What is it, IF?" The marked man leaned away from the barrier, straightening himself and taking a few steps toward the girl. "I can't get in?"

"Nep isn't even in the Basilicom right now." She put a hand on her hip.

"Oh?" Emril tilted his head. "Wait, that's weird."

"Hold on." The guard intervened. "I reme-"

His speech was interrupted by a death glare from the brunette. Feeling her eyes burning through him and realizing what he'd be asking for if he said the truth, the sentry stuttered, before finishing his sentence."I-I remembered a.. detective book. A-About a girl trying to, uh.. Find her father?"

Emril's eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms.

Now, there was something he wasn't being told. Otherwise, why would a guard bring up something as random as some detective book? IF gave him a death stare beforehand, too, right when he was going to mention remembering something.. Could it, by any chance, be him remembering something important and IF wanting him to stay quiet?

"See, I thought you're talking about a different book." He looked at the guardsman. "You know, where a little girl finds a little toy, goes home to play with it, but isn't really home at the same time?" The guy's mouth curled up into a little smile, his eyes not moving away from the watchman.

"Wait a minute…" IF didn't take long to join in on the literature discussion, taking a step forward to break the eye contact between the guard and the man. "Isn't that the book where everyone thought the girl disappeared when she was really just taking a walk somewhere?"

"Was she really taking a walk?" Emril's gaze shifted from the guard to IF, after realizing that he didn't have much choice but to do so. With narrowed eyes and a tilted head, he asked: "Are you talking about the same story as we are? I only remember her disappearing without a trace and leaving that toy behind."

"It's okay if you don't remember something, a lot of people who didn't read the whole thing get it wrong." IF's gaze sharpened, growing into another death glare, much like the one she gave the guard earlier.

"What's with the look, IF? Is there something on my face?" Emril asked, with his eyes obtaining the ability to burn through steel, similar to hers.

"I can ask the same, Emril."

…

"Uhm.." Holding a phone, the guard peeked in, glancing at the brunette with a perplexed expression. "Miss IF? The Oracle wants to speak with you."

The girl grabbed the phone from his hand, tapping the screen and bringing the device up to her ear. "Yes?.." She spoke, turning to the right and starting to walk back towards the Basilicom door. "Uh huh.. I see. Yeah, everything's fine, I just let our guest know that Nep _isn't available_ ," She turned around and glared at Emril upon saying those words. "So that shouldn't be a problem now. Hm?.. Oh, really? Okay, I'm coming back up. Meet you there."

A breath escaped IF's lips, with her tapping on the phone screen again, before turning around. The girl approached the guard and extended her arm, letting the guy take his phone back, before giving him a tug. "You're coming with me."

Earning a singular "Mhm" in response, the brunette turned around, approaching the door. Pushing it open, she stepped inside the tower, the security guard following her with visible insecurity.

Emril watched as the two moved up the elevator shaft, right until the point when their cabin disappeared in the puffy clouds. A few seconds of silence followed suit.

"...Hah."

If that wasn't an interesting encounter, Emril had no idea what was. What was that book analogy that the two sticked to during their little verbal battle? How did it even get to that point? Wait, the guard brought up a book the first, and everyone else played off of that. What did he want to say, anyway? He saw something, that's for sure, but IF wanted him to stay quiet? Was that information classified or did they just want to try and hide it? Did _she_ want to try and hide it?

Whatever, he wouldn't find that out anytime soon, much like that staring contest between him and IF. Just, how close were they to each other? Were their noses touching or was it just him?

Even if his situation was growing a lot more complicated than it had any right to, the young Von Liris was starting to like where this was going.

"Speaking of going…" The man said to himself, and turned around, starting to gain distance from the skyscraper with a pinch of disappointment. "Might as well try familiarizing myself with this place while I wait."

It was then that he slowed down, his head became occupied with thoughts yet again.

Where was he going to go first? He had an entire city to explore, a literal ton of possibilities and places to see, things to find out about the so-called 'CPU' of this very nation.. There was a whole new world at his feet, for crying out loud! What was he going to do first? Gah, having such freedom was a curse sometimes..!

Emril's stomach growled like a lion, waking the man from his inner monologue.

Oh right, he hasn't eaten anything ever since he awoke, that being a good few hours ago. It dawned on him that, if he took away the destined encounters he had and the things he had learned during that time, the guy was starving to death. Even though the newfound information didn't seem like anything special, it gave the man a clue as to where he'd have to go next, and freed him from the nightmarish freedom of choice, albeit for just a few minutes.

"..Think a café break would be good." He muttered to himself, scratching his left temple before picking up his pace again. "Don't want to toss money around much, and I can also get a coffee there. Local cafés have some sort of food for sale, right?"

After a prolonged walk on the bridge, Emril hopped onto the purple concrete, not idling long before proceeding back towards the familiar city streets. Crossing his arms on his chest, the man's eyes began to jump back and forth, scrutinizing at people passing by: hurrying businessmen carrying briefcases and holding their phones next to their ears, cheerful groups of students joking around and having fun, endearing couples holding arms and walking in tandem filled the high-spirited streets of the animated nation Von Liris still had yet to explore.

Much like outdoors, the stores and hotels also proved to be full of life. The first establishment that caught the character's attention was 'Nep's Pudding Stash', which seemed to be a shop that sold pudding with flavors that, even on paper, sounded either deviant or fascinating: fish pudding and tomato pudding were just two kinds of the dessert available in the 'Pudding Stash'. Next, Emril's attention was caught with a peculiar restaurant named 'Neppu Mia!', which, by the looks of it, was one of the more high-end establishments of the city. He wouldn't have paid much attention to it, if not for..

"Neppu Miia! Welcome to Grande restaurante de Planeptuna! We offering la today special of nonna's meat-a-balls for a grande price drop-a!"

..That.

Emril would've chuckled at the restaurant's mascot yelling in an incomprehensible accent if not for the prices being a cause of heartache and woe. Shrugging off the ludicrous costs, the man continued his walk through the city.

Of note was another establishment on the street, 'Hair Snepper'. Seeing a teenage girl inside the place getting her long purple hair tied into braids brought Emril to a conclusion: He was looking at a barber shop. The man was ready to give the owner a reward for coming up with such a witty name, but there were more important things to do at the moment, so he shrugged it off, for the time being.

Before long, Emril found himself approaching his destination, a café called 'Neppuccino'. Being a lot more quaint and cozy than the other establishments, it seemed all but inviting for the man: Instead of being modernistic and fitting for a city of the future, it sticked to a rather old-fashioned style, with decorations filling the walls of the café's interior and there being a stylish 'Come in, we're open' hanging on the door.

Stepping towards said door and pushing it open, the surprising, yet sweet sound produced by the startled shop bells pierced Emril's ears, with the man stepping onto a floor made out of dark wood and scanning the café's indoor area. He was presented with just a few people inside the coffeehouse: A pink-haired girl wearing a warm sweater and a school skirt sat on a bench seat, making her the closest to the exit, further in were two students sitting on the same table and eyeing the girl, and the farthest from the entrance sat a brown-haired individual, sitting with crossed legs and looking around with purple eyes.

After a few seconds of looking around and receiving a heartwarming 'Hello' from the pink-haired girl, Emril spotted the barista's counter to be just in front of him. He took a few steps forward, before leaning forward on the stall and glancing at the barkeeper.

"Hello, can I please get a, uh.." A quick peek at the menu followed. "Can I please get a large cappuccino, a slice of blueberry chocolate cake, and let's go with, um… Whatever, let's go with a few salami sandwiches."

"Sure, what's your name?" The barista asked, with a warm smile. "So that I can inform you when your order is ready."

"Emril."

"Em.. Emil?"

Excusing the innocent mispronunciation, the foreigner cracked a smile. "Em. Ril."

"Em. Ril. Got it. Your order will be ready shortly, for now please have a seat. I hope you enjoy your time here."

"Thanks." The man nodded, before turning around, and taking a step towards the table. Out of nowhere, his head darted back towards the barista. "Wait, what about payment?"

"Oh, we receive payment after serving food. Once you're done dining here, you pay."

"Ah, okay, nice to know. Thanks again."

Not long after the little exchange, Emril found a seat next to the window overlooking the Planeptune street, letting himself relax and look at those passing by the café. More businessmen scurrying around and trying to breach through crowds of people to reach their destination, more charming couples having a good time with one another- for a second, the marked man thought he saw someone proposing to their crush right outside the neat establishment he rested in.

A breath escaped his lips.

Emril knew this sounded weird, but if him conquering the world were to continue at such a pace, then it wasn't as bad as he made it out to be at first. After having a nice coffee break, the young Von Liris could try finding a library, and read up a bit about the CPUs, since that guardsman recommended him a book from.. Industri Keepers, right? Yeah, that was it. So, after the break, Emril would head for the library, find Industri Keepers, read about the CPUs.. Maybe he should start trying to find some sort of job in this city? There had to be some sort of way for the man to occupy himself and earn some money, perhaps earn enough for a place to live.. Huh, well look at that, the situation was a lot better than he thought!

A crashing sound took Emril out of his trance, his head darting towards the sound's origin. What greeted him was a sight of two young adults standing over the pink-haired girl, cornering her in the bench seat. Leaning forward a little, the man glued his eyes to whatever was going on with those three, looking like he was bracing himself for the worst.

"See, I thought you could, you know.." One of the two adults spoke to the girl. "Feel up me and my buddy? We're, uh, we're kinda hurting, both of us, right Ed?"

"Yeah, fo'sho."

"U-Um, are you sure you don't want to do bad things to me..?"

"Noooo, no, c'mon, dear, what're you saying?" The man leaned in, extending his arm to touch hers. "We won't do anything bad.."

Emril's gaze sharpened.

He knew where this was going.

"W-Well…" The pink-haired female stuttered. "I-I'm not too su- AAH!"

"I don't take no for an answer!" The man yelled, grasping the girl's forearm and lifting her up. "C'mon, Ed, we're doing i-"

A screeching sound followed, with Von Liris pushing his seat aside and standing up at a rapid pace, succeeding in getting the guys' attention.

Think fast, Emril. Acting aggressive would cause more trouble, in particular when they've their hands on that poor girl. Diplomacy wouldn't help that much, neither would calling the barista. He had to rely on his charisma for this one.

Inside his mind, the man cracked his knuckles, and tilted his head side to side.

It was time to talk people's heads off.

"Guuuuuuys, c'mooooon!" He started, spreading his arms out, with a huge grin having overtook his face. "You're wasting your time on her!"

"Who're you and why should we listen to you?" The so-called "Ed" asked, glaring at Emril with narrowed eyes. "We do what we want."

"Yeah, sure, common knowledge, but guuuuys!" His voice gained a somewhat reprimanding tone, with his eyebrows narrowing and him tilting his head. "You're better than this, I know you are! It's obvious that girl's an easy target, how about you go out and hunt some real game instead?"

The marked man's statement seemed to have interested the two attackers: Turning around, both of them looked at him with narrowed eyes, distrust written all over their faces.

"We're listening."

"Alright, since you boys seem to know what you're doing," Emril placed his arms behind his back. "I've been wanting to ask you about a job I thought of pulling. Nothing too big, but you'll get your cut if you do everything I want you to do."

"Go on."

"You two ever tried a blitz play? Wait, there's something I gotta do first.."

The man extended his arms, moving the attackers aside and making it possible for him to see the assaulted girl. Not long after, he spoke. "Lady, this's a very sensitive topic that I wanna discuss with the lads here, so would you _kindly_ beat it?"

A wink followed.

"Hey, what was that?" The "Ed" person asked in a demanding tone, closing in on Emril. "Did you just wink?"

"Ah, apologies, something in my eye.." The man brought his left arm towards his iris, trying to scoop out whatever disturbed his vision. "I can get that thing sometimes where one of my eyelashes can fall into my eye and I've to take it out."

Taking the imaginary divergent eyelash and flicking it away, the man blinked a few times, looking towards where the attacked woman was, to be greeted with an empty space instead of where she sat. His eyes jumped towards the door, and, upon seeing the casualty opening the door at a slow pace, as if to prevent the shop bells from ringing, a mental sweat wipe followed.

So far, so good. He just had to buy her a bit more time now.

"So anyway, like I said, blitz play." Emril continued his lawbreaking ramble. "One of you gets a garbage truck, or just a big, big car, blocks our target's path, the other guy - Ed, I assume - gets a tow truck, something that'll ram the quarry and make it vulnerable. Then both of you get out of your cars, plant explosives on the rear, and blow it up. Take all the goods you can find, then get out. Risky, but simple to execute, not to mention efficient. So, how's that sound?"

The victim left the café.

This was about to get messy.

"Ah great, she left." The man looked at the exit, letting out a sigh of relief. "Now we can get serious."

"Serious?" Ed asked. "You think this blitz play talk wasn't serious enough?"

"No no no, guys, you got it all wrong."

A rippling sound followed, with Emril clenching his fists, and a swirl of color invading his irises, with a more enraged crimson red tone emerging. "I was only playing with you guys. We're just getting started."

"You.. Crap, she got away!" The other attacker was about to bolt outside, in order to catch the girl that fled the café…

If not for a firm grasp on his forearm stopping him from moving anywhere.

"I **said** , we're just getting started." A sudden growl escaped Emril's lips, ominous and threatening. "You don't even think about going out that do-"

"HIT HIM!"

Ed raced a fist towards Emril's face, with the latter pulling not-Ed into the punch. Letting go of his forearm, the foreigner took a few steps back, seeing both men charging at him in unison. Ed swung his arm at the man, but regretted it soon after: seeing a perfect counterattack opportunity, the young Von Liris ducked under the speeding arm, getting a firm grip on it and pushing him into one of the many tables inside the coffeehouse, before taking another step backwards, feeling himself bumping into barista's stall. Not-Ed grabbed a nearby sugar dispenser and flung it at the man, aiming for his head, Emril ducked under the quick projectile and took a step to his right, hearing a sound of shattering glass moments after. Upon recovering after being thrown into a coffee table, Ed charged at the marked man, landing his hands on the target's neck as he pushed him down, in an attempt at choking the lone wolf out. A rapid punch collided with the attacker's face, causing him to let out an audible cry of pain and stumble back, followed up with him falling to his knees. Before Emril knew, not-Ed's knuckle was closing in, resulting in the stranger grabbing the attacking arm and pushing the aggressor against the barkeeper stall, grabbing not-Ed's head and bashing it against the table corner, leaving a few little red stains on its surface.

The just beaten of the duo dropped to the ground with a loud thud, showing little to no signs of consciousness. Still holding onto his bleeding nose, Ed scrambled to his feet and pierced the young Von Liris with a sharp gaze, realizing that the situation wasn't looking in his favor. The troublemaker let his right hand slip behind him, reaching for an ace up his sleeve. Emril's eyes jumped towards the shiny object in his enemy's hand - a switchblade.

Not good.

The aggressor lunged forward, slashing through air with his flick knife in a fruitless attempt to hit the one who knocked out his partner in crime. Holding the weapon in a reverse grip, Ed took aim for Emril's head, only to end up stabbing the barkeeper stall. Ed yanked his dagger out of the counter and, not wasting any time, dashed forward, swinging his weapon in almost desperate attempts to hit his enemy. Predicting the pattern of an incoming strike, Emril stepped away by instinct, trying to dodge the hit, but his movement came to a halt after stumbling against a chair, causing the aggressor's cutting edge to make contact with the man's shoulder. The sharp blade swooshed through air, leaving a large wound on the foreigner's otherwise untouched arm.

The youthful Von Liris grunted in displeasure.

Alright, _very_ not good.

Emril's head darted to the right, and, upon noticing a gap between the stall and a coffee table, hopped aside, leaving the thug to slash through air again. Ed looked to his left, to notice that the stranger was too close for comfort, and before long, the criminal felt something pushing him with great force. The table, which was positioned behind the troublemaker, cracked under pressure, and Ed, weakening the grip on his trusty knife, collapsed next to not-Ed's legs.

Heavy breaths escaped the starving foreigner's lips, as he stood in the midst of the postbattle clutter.

"Wasn't that something…" Emril muttered to himself, standing up straight while fixing his outfit. "You lads seriously had to ruin my afternoon like that? Urgh, now I gotta go to the hospital.."

Another breath followed suit as the man turned around, making his way to the entrance door, right hand on his cut shoulder.

So much for wanting to have a calm lunch at a local café. And, after what happened, the savior would've come out of the establishment, without even getting a 'thank you' from that girl he saved. Also, he had to find a new place to dine in, since Neppucino was in no condition to accept customers. Not after what had occured.

Good thing he wasn't stabbed in the chest, though. Or in the neck. It wouldn't have mattered how resilient Emril was, a stab wound in either of those places could prove fatal.

So.. Hospital, then f-

"Khhh-!" Sucking air through his teeth, the foreigner felt a sharp silver metallic object piercing his side. As his head darted towards the source, his crimson eyes caught sight of a much too familiar figure, grinning and holding the knife which was in Emril's flesh.

A loud, exasperated groan escaped the victim's lips, but knowing the severity of the situation he was in, he gripped the guilty arm and, mustering all the strength he could, launched the culprit onto the same seat where the saved girl once sat. The thug didn't take long to scramble to his feet and throw himself at Emril again.

"For the love of Yvmus and his Domain, get off me already!" The infuriated Von Liris' yell resonated within the cafe, as his left hand clenched into a fist, the knuckle began obtaining a faint cyan glow.

A brief moment of silence followed. Despite the grinning mugger being at a big advantage, a quick peek at his enemy's cold glare washed away all traces of confidence on his features along with blood, rendering Ed pale and frightened.

He's had enough.

* * *

"Awww…" A pink-haired girl wearing a sweater could be seen, almost whimpering. "I knew I forgot something super duper important.."

Slumping down, she sighed.

"I really hope Mr. Nice Guy's okay.. I'd be sad if something bad happened to him."

Moments after, the girl's eyes turned into arrows as she clenched her hands into fists, placing her harmless fists in front of her sizable chest. "If I had my trusty old syringe, I'd poke the two baddies into shape!.."

Silence was her answer.

"Awh, that's what I get for rushing out.." Her strong stance wavered. Clasping her hands together, the klutz's head darted left and right, to see that the streets have been emptied. Not even a single soul to ask for help?

With each passing second, the feeling of worry grew stronger. Getting someone hurt for her sake wasn't in her "To do" list. Nuh uh, not for this nurse.

"One thing Mr. Nice Guy can't save me from is Iffy's scolding.."

Mid thought, something dawned on the damsel in distress.

"Iffy! I should probably call her!"

Just as the girl reached for her pouch, a wall of air pushed her loose sleeve aside, her short red skirt swayed in the wind. The sudden trembling beneath the nurse's feet made her jump, and the sudden cry of pain that resonated inside the café only made matters worse.

What was going on? Did the goodie get hurt? Agh, if not for her hurrying to get lunch and get back to work, this could've been avoided for sure. Well, even if he was hurt, she could always make him feel better. She didn't become a nurse for nothing, after all!

…

"Why did it get so quiet all of a sudden?.." The uneasy girl muttered to himself, leaning over a bit to look at café's entrance. Glancing at both sides of the road again, she wished for anyone at all to show up, but later realized she was just procrastinating, trying to avoid entering the hushed coffeehouse. Acknowledging the severe limits the saved girl found herself in, she sighed and started tracing back towards the door.

Tap. Tap. Tap.

The door knob was within touching range. Her hand was shaking. The poor nurse had to know how the fight concluded, but the thought alone of seeing the two baddies walk out, drag her in and do bad things to the girl put her on edge. Just a quick peek wouldn't hurt..

Would it?

Whoosh.

"Eek!" Caught in surprise, she recoiled and took a good few steps back, bracing herself for whatever was about to happen. Good thing she had time to finish that meal in the café; running with full energy's better than running with no energy, after all.

The nurse's worries and fears were thrown out the window a few seconds after.

* * *

"...One moment, you're trying to have a nice coffee break before going out and kicking ass in a completely strange world.. Shouldn't be problematic, right?"

Emril grunted, continuing his mini ramble, which soon turned into an inner dialogue.

"Then, out of nowhere, two guys come up, and kick you in the head. "What? You thought this would be easy?" No, I was just hoping you wouldn't have to ruin my nice break by getting me to stop you from violating an innocent girl.. "Sorry about that. Troublemakers just like to violate, you know? Can't be helped." Urgh.."

His head turned to the left, only for his eyes to catch the sight of an empty street.

Oh great, everyone ran away after hearing that bang go off in the coffeehouse. Who was he going to ask for help now? There's no way he could find the nearby hospital before the stab wound in his side starts getting nasty. A map would come in handy right now, that's certain.

 _Sniff._

Emril crooked an eyebrow.

Someone crying?

 _Sniff, sniff._

"Oh.. N.. No.." A trembling female voice was heard to his right, her statement was stuttering, filled with fear and concern. "Y-You must be in so much pain…"

So not _everybody_ ran away, after all.. But who was crying?

Von Liris looked to the right, catching an almost heartbreaking glimpse of the pink-haired girl covering her mouth with her hands, eyes red from tears. The shift in his facial expression was instant: The man's eyebrows rose up and his lips parted, ridding Emril's mien of any indignation or anger.

On one hand, there was a bloody knife sticking out of the man's right side, which - even if his pain tolerance was good - still made itself felt. On the other hand, there was an innocent girl, who was almost violated just a few minutes ago, bawling her eyes out in front of him and even trying to get a word in between her sobs..

If there was any one thing Emril was good at, it was getting dragged into sticky situations like this one.

Scratching the back of his head, the man turned himself towards the crying girl, and tilted his head. "C'mon, no need to cry.. Everything's fine."

"But, but, but.. You're so hurt..." She uttered out, holding her face with her hands as tears kept strolling down her cheeks.

"Do I look like I feel pain right now, miss?" Emril spread his arms, the corners of his mouth curled up into a smile. "Sure, there may be a knife in my side, but I've had worse things done to me."

All of a sudden, his eyes widened, and his right hand darted down towards the handle sticking out of his body. "I can pull it out if the sight's disturbing y-"

"No no no no, don't pull it out!" The nurse called out all of a sudden, her change in mood causing Emril to jump. "Leave it in there!"

"Really?" The injured man glanced at her, raising his eyebrow.

"Yeah, the.. The knife is blocking most of the blood coming out of the wound. You'll start bleeding more if you pull it out."

The wounded foreigner tilted his head.

This girl seemed to be more knowledgeable than he first thought. Judging by her appearance, though, Emril'd be willing to bet she was still a student: The red skirt and the pouch on her waist gave everything away. Since she knew something quite vital to his situation, but was still learning, was she going to medical school? Well, it made sense if what she said was true, - which it had to be - but otherwise, how'd she know about it? The man doubted she was spending her downtime reading articles about stab wounds..

Ah, whatever, thinking could wait. Right now Emril had to focus on getting medical treatment, and there was no way a girl like her wouldn't know where a nearby clinic is.

"Hmmm…" The girl grimaced, taking a closer look at his injury. "I don't think I can help you with what I have right now."

"Makes sense." Von Liris scratched his forehead, seeing the nice girl clasping her hands and looking to her left, as if trying to find something with her eyes. "I was about to ask if you know if there're any hospitals not far from he-"

Emril's eyes widened, as he had just realized what she said. "Hold up, 'with what you have right now'?"

"I'm a nurse!" The klutz admitted, placing her hands next to her legs and tilting her head, with what could only be described as the cutest, most endearing smile plastered on her face.

Upon accomplishing the toilsome task of resisting the urge to pat this cute little girl, the man cleared his throat and let his hand hover in the air, close to the handle sticking out of him. "..That makes things so much better for me. I hope this isn't too much to ask of you, miss.."

"Compa!" She smiled again. Emril had just met this girl, but her cuteness level already proved to be near lethal to him.

"Compa, right." He nodded to himself, once again resisting the urge to pet the nurse. "Anyway, can you take me to your workplace?"

Upon remembering the state her savior was in, Compa's cute smile would soon disappear, and shift to a more concerned set of features. "Okay, please follow me! I'll fix you right up!" She requested, facing the male figure again before beginning to trace her way to the promised destination. Emril obliged, starting to follow her footsteps in hopes to reach the polyclinic. It didn't take him long to start thinking on his way there.

In just one half of a day, he managed to wake up in a different world, run into a peculiar brunette that had connections with the 'CPU' of this futuristic metropolis, meet a guard that recommended him a book, then proceed to beat up two troublemakers in a café and _then_ familiarize himself with a sweet and lovable nurse who agreed to take him to the hospital. One eventful day, that's for sure.

But, focusing on one thought, the young dimension tripper let out a sigh of relief.

At last, there was something that didn't spell trouble!


	5. Following The Trail

"Alrighty, take off your clothes, I'll make you feel a lot better!"

Nevermind!

A line formed in between Emril's eyebrows, surprised at Compa's sudden request. Glancing at her and sitting down on the hospital bed, he reached for the buckles on his left wrist, which kept his gloves intact. "That sounded a bit weird, but alright."

"Hm?" The klutzy nurse tilted her head, eyes wide. "What do you mean, 'weird'?"

"Oh, nothing." He shook his head, dropping the gauntlet next to him. "Just that you brought me to a room with a bed, closed the door, and told me to undress because you'd make me feel better."

The curious expression on Compa's face remained. Emril sighed, waving his hand as if trying to scare a fly away. "Pay no mind to it, okay?"

"Okay." She nodded, looking at the man as he continued undressing.

Compa glanced at the spot next to him, realizing that her patient's outfit had more buckles and armor than actual clothing. After looking around, the girl took a few steps towards the bed and, scooping up all the pieces of clothing Emril took off, turned around. She started walking towards a big empty table, while also trying to make sure none of his gear fell out of her hands.

The undressing patient turned his head towards her, his ponytail swaying in the air. Emril let out a snicker, the corner of his mouth curled up into a smirk. "Need help over there?"

"Huh?" The nurse turned around, the pile of equipment in her arms soon making a comeback. Upon feeling herself go off balance, Compa let out a surprised yelp and took a few steps back, in attempts to maintain her footing. The little hill of shoulder pads, gloves and buckles caved in, crashing onto the floor with a sound anything but musical or soothing.

Compa stood there, in the midst of the entire mess. She scratched her head, an awkward smile overtaking said girl's features. "Hahah.. Hah.. Whoops."

The joking, almost smug guise on the patient's face quickly grew into a more unquiet expression. Unable to turn away from the clumsy attendant being surrounded by his own equipage, Em firmly pressed his feet against the floor, as if he was about to stand up. "..I'll handle the cleanup."

"No no no, don't get up!" She verbally pushed him back onto the hospital bed. "You shouldn't move with your wounds untreated."

"Well, I made it from the café all the way to here, I think a bit of cleaning's not gonna kill me."

"That's no excuse, mister!" Compa addressed her outpatient. "You shouldn't move with these wounds. Don't worry, nurse Compa got it all covered!"

"Are you really sure you don't need help?"

"Yep!"

"Alright.." Emril muttered to himself, his voice devoid of any confidence as he continued stripping himself of his composite apparel. Before long, another mini-hill of buckles and red silky material stood strong on the billet, with his torso now undraped.

"Brrr..." Em quickly crossed his arms, rubbing his shoulders in attempts to warm up. Being nude in a comfortable mellow hotel room was one thing, but having no clothes on inside of a polyclinic was a much different story. Especially when the bed he'd have to rest on for some time was as cold as a mattress that was thrown into a huge freezer for a few days.

Not only that, but just the sole fact that he was sitting with his torso completely naked, a knife still comfortably sitting in his side and a nurse cleaning the mess she caused made the man feel a bit awkward. The taste of slight embarrassment was quickly replaced with dread and slight panic, as his eyes spotted a bunch of syringes on a nearby table.

"I hate needles…" Emril lowered his head, sitting on the hospital bed with his arms crossed. That girl wasn't about to use all those syringes on him, right? She wasn't a person that secretly enjoyed groans and screams of pain from her victims as a needle slowly pierced their body, right?

No, no way, that couldn't be the case at all. So far, with how Compa behaved herself around him, this cute nurse wouldn't even stand the sight of those bloody little demons. Then again, looks can be deceiving, and Emril wasn't the kind of person to make conclusions before collecting all the knowledge he could about something. He was a circumspect young man.

Speaking of which, Compa surely was taking a while, wasn't she?

With curiosity winning him over, Em slowly turned his head towards the nurse. What greeted the inquisitive person was a close view of the cutesy nurse bending over to pick another piece of his equipment into a newborn pile in her arms. To Emril's major dismay, he turned around at the worst time possible.

The sight of Compa's snow white undergarment and her uncovered supple thighs caught his eye. As a noticeable blush crept its way to the adult's face, he darted his head back, covering his newly obtained lobster face with a hand.

Alright, she also didn't know how to hide her more.. intimate parts from people. Why did he have to see that? Em was never obliged to turn around and see what's up with Compa, she had just told him she'd handle everything. Not being a pure innocent snowflake was a curse sometimes..

Em rubbed his face against his hands, later dropping down on the ice cold hospital bed.

"What did I get myself into..?"

* * *

"This isn't good.."The guild agent said with an uneasy look on her face, arms crossed on her chest.

"Indeed. And during the Shift Period, too.. Do you mind telling me the details of Neptune's disappearance?"

"As I said, I was heading towards their room, and all of a sudden they started screaming. I reach their room and they're gone, like they were wiped off the face of the earth."

"I see.."

"The sudden gust of wind is what's bothering me more, though. All of our windows were closed, and I don't think even Nep's gonna use air conditioning when it's so warm outside."

"Sudden gust of wind… Hm. Was it similar to the ones that occur when portals between dimensions are created?"

"I don't know, I'm not a dimension traveler. But that does sound interesting.. You think Nep and Gear were thrown into a different dimension?"

"That's the most likely scenario. But, I suggest we get to work. I will focus on trying to contact Neptune, but it will take three days before I can make any sort of progress. IF, I'm sorry to be a bother, but will you be able to handle the rest for the time being?"

"Yeah, it shouldn't be a problem. I might as well check the news, to see if there's anything I should do around Planeptune first."

"That would be good."

Having finished her conversation with the Oracle, IF's hand automatically reached for the phone strap, and with a quick gesture, the device was in her hands. With a few rapid taps on the screen, the main page of Nepstation appeared on the phone's display, as well as several news articles.

"Hm.. Nep-Nep World grand re-opening - no… Summer festival approaching - no… Goddess Green Heart takes over number 1 on the Gaming Leaderboard - no… Local establishment 'Neppuccino' completely.. wrecked..."

The wind walker's eyes slowly widened in horror.

"Wait a damn minute.. Neppuccino… Oh no..!"

IF's irises shrank, as if recalling a memory she wished to be false.

" _Hey, Iffy, I'll be taking my lunch break in Neppuccino if you need me!"_

" _Alright, stay safe."_ " _Aw, don't worry! I'll be okay!"_ The brunette wasn't too sure about that anymore.

With slightly shaking fingers desperately tapping on the sensor, the screen shifted from pictures and news headers to a dialing pad, the desired number was entered almost instantly, as if with muscle memory. Before Iffy knew, the phone was in between her palm and her cheek.

"Come on…" Starting to pace around, the CPU's acquaintance moved her gaze towards the floor, eagerly awaiting a response from her childhood friend.

Beep.

"Pick up…"

Beep..

"Come ooon..!"

Beep...

No response.

"Damn it!.."

A drop of sweat crawled down the worried mug, with the anxious girl staring down the merciless screen for a couple of seconds. Snapping herself back to reality, IF's eyes grew bigger, and gained a livelier light.

She was never the kind of person to stay idle. She had to do something.

"Histoire?" The brunette called out for the floating Oracle, holding onto her trusty phone. In less than three seconds, the book fairy hovered over, seeing the agitated expression Iffy was wearing.

"What is it, IF? Are you alright?"

"Compa might be in trouble, I need to see if she's alright." The girl replied urgently.

"Dear me.. That is another cause of concern. Are you aware of her whereabouts?"

"All I know is that she was having her lunch break at Neppuccino, and the café was completely destroyed just now."

"Alright, please make haste. We cannot afford the loss of another ally."

"Got it." The perturbed brunette nodded, turning around and making a straight dash toward the elevator.

Few seconds later, the cabin doors slid open, and IF stepped inside the mobile room, wasting no time to tap the the ground floor button.

The lift closed, before starting to move down the elevator shaft. Having just remembered the height of the tower she was descending from, Iffy sighed.

Slowly, the girl made her way to the selected floor, with calm and lax elevator music playing during the vertical trip, as if to mock the agent's worries.

Slow and steady…

…

"Can't this metallic box move faster?!" IF called out in frustration, stomping the cabin floor. To her relief and slight surprise, the escalator actually started descending at a quicker pace.

The agent looked at her phone's display, which still showed the Neppuccino news article.

"Please be safe.."

* * *

"All done~!" Compa cheerfully called out, spinning around to look at her half-naked patient. "Alrighties, please stay calm and don't move, I'll be done in a jiffy!"

"I still think I should've handled the cleaning." A line formed in between Emril's eyebrows, with the man cracking a slightly awkward smile as he laid on the hospital bed.

"You shouldn't move without a professional permission!" Said the nurse, bringing all the needed equipment to a little table near the hospital bed.

"Fiine, fiine…" Em sarcastically rolled his eyes, glancing at the girl

As she made herself comfortable on the seat and confirmed that the distance between her and the patient was optimal, Compa took a closer look at the wound, slightly narrowing her eyes. Weakly, but enough to make itself seen, the caretaker recoiled, her eyes suddenly widening.

"Oh, I almost forgot!"

"Hm?" The injured man crooked an eyebrow, observing the girl as she reached for the pouch hanging on her waist. "What is it?"

"This time, I'm gonna make sure I don't get distracted." She answered, pulling out a decently sized smartphone, with a bright pink cover on its back. The phone case was decorated with a heart in the middle, and a white "C" inside the symbol.

"This time..?" Emril asked inquisitively. "Did you not mute your phone once while treating a patient, and someone's text message startled you and you almost messed up something vital?"

"Eheh.. heh.. Something like that…" Compa scratched the back of her head, tapping her phone's display a few times before placing it down on a bedside drawer. "Alright, this is gonna sting a little. Can you please look away, Mr. Nice Guy? This can get pretty ugly.."

"Alright, alright, I'm not looking." Em obliged, turning away and blocking his eyesight with a hand. "By the way, call me Emril."

"Emril.. Hmmm, can I call you Em-Em?"

"Em-Em?" He cracked a smirk. "That's a new on- Argh..!"

"So Em-Em, are you from Planeptune?"

"No, I'm not local. I don't even know this place."

"Huh?"

"I kind of just woke up here a few hours ago, in a nearby hotel. I don't know _how_ , but it happened anyways."

"Oooh, do you jump dimensions like Nep-Nep?"

"You could say that. Wait, Nep-Nep?" The man asked, his eyes darting Compa's way. "Do you know her? Ow.."

"Yeah!" Emril didn't see the nurse's expression, but he had a strong feeling she was beaming at the moment, despite having just pulled out the sharp object from his body. "Nep-Nep and I are best friends!"

"I swear, the world is tiny sometimes.." He muttered to himself, slightly shaking his head. Em then slightly turned to look at the working girl, allowing his gaze to land on her. "She's the 'CPU', right? What does that mean?"

"Oh!" Like a kid happy to get the right questions in his exam, Compa seemed all the happier to answer. "A CPU is the leader of each nation. They're mostly called Goddesses!" After stopping the bleeding from Emril's wound, the cheerful caregiver set aside the stained towel, then reached for a bottle of saline. "Okay, this is gonna hurt a little.."

"I'm aware, I'm more interested in hearing the rest about the CPUs."

"So!" Compa continued her little lecture. "Where did I stop?"

"CPUs are mostly called Goddesses."

"Oh right! CPUs like Nep-Nep don't age, and they gain their power from the faith everyone puts in them."

"Faith? That's interesting."

"Yessies! The people in each nation believe in their Goddess, and thanks to that, the CPUs can protect their people from meanie things like bad monsters or piracy."

"Okay, you said 'nation' and now I'm curious. Each nation has its own Goddess, or something?"

"Mhm!" Compa nodded. "You're really smart, Em-Em!"

"Stop with the flattery.." Emril cracked a slightly awkward smile. "And how many nations are there?"

"Four! Planeptune, Lastation, Lowee and Leanbox!"

"..I'll ignore the slightly worrying fact that three of those nations start with 'L'. So that means there are four Goddesses - or CPUs - in.. what was it called?"

"Gamindustri!"

"Game industry?.." A big question mark popped into Em's mind, as he looked at the nurse with a confused face.

"No no no, Gamindustri! Ga-min-dus-tri!"

"Ga-min-dus-tri, right.." The man accompanied his every syllable with a small nod, muttering to himself. "Know the other Goddesses?"

"Yep! The Goddess of Lastation is called Noire!"

"Noir? What a cute nam-"

"Don't forget the 'e' at the end." Compa let out a small giggle, putting down the bottle of saline and reaching for a roll of bandages.

"..Right. Noire. What about those Lowee and Leanbox nations?"

"Oh, the CPU of Lowee is called Blanc, and the CPU of Leanbox is called Vert."

"So, Neptune, Noire, Blanc, Vert, and that's it?"

"Mhm!"

"Alright, that's good to know."

Unknown to the cute nurse, Emril's attention shifted to the muffled buzzing sound emanating from a pink rectangular object sitting face down next to him. Coming to the conclusion that someone was calling Compa, he wanted to let her know about it, but his words quickly stuck in his throat. Distracting the girl while she tends to his injury sounded like a stupid idea.

'..I'll remind her about it later.' He thought to himself, looking away from the ringing smartphone.

"..And that's how the Console War ended!" The girl cheerfully concluded, with an adorable smile. "Now all the Goddesses are best friends!"

"Oh, uh.. I'm sorry, could you repeat? I didn't catch that."

"Okay! It all started…"

* * *

Back on the Planeptune streets, the city never halted its joyous and lively habits. Swarming with people of all ages and with business at its prime, the main district, if not the entire nation, felt like a peaceful and happy utopia.

People began turning their heads, however, when a loud revving conquered all the other ruckus on the streets. The roaring of a confident engine and its more confident rider bolted through the streets, and all that the civilians could catch were that the rider was a brunette in a long blue coat, zooming through Planeptune on her purple iron horse.

At such a rapid pace, IF was about to reach her destination in only a few seconds. Measuring the remaining distance with her eyes, the brunette suddenly turned her motorcycle to the side, skillfully drifting the vehicle to a halt. Letting go of the bike's handles, Iffy straightened herself out and scanned the surrounding area, still sitting on her ride.

A young-looking man - presumably the café's barista - stood near the café's entrance door, seemingly on the verge of tears. A small crowd of people gathered next to the wrecked establishment. Neppu Mia's mascot stood next to the restaurant, with visible distress and confusion on his face. Without even entering the coffeehouse, the wind walker noticed the amount of damage inside it: flipped tables, broken chairs, and something that almost looked like a dent in the wall.

Though, that wasn't enough information for IF to draw any conclusions. She had to investigate further.

Hopping off of her motorcycle, the brunette calmly approached the café entrance. "Alright, what happened here?" She asked, glancing at the barista.

"I.. I was calmly making cappuccino for a c-customer… Then t-two guys attacked a girl, and everyone started fighting…"

"What girl? Can you describe her to me?"

"A-Average height.. Pink hair and, and a warm sweater.."

"I see. Do you know where she went?"

"I.. I only remember seeing her w-walk out.. Ri-Right before everything went to hell..!" His voice cracking, the barista covered his face with his hands. "E-Everything was so well, and now my most important thing is destroyed..! Destroyed..!"

"Alright, calm down." IF couldn't help but to place her hand on the crying bartender's shoulder, addressing him with a calm voice. "You'll be fine, the café will be restored."

"I-I-I hope..! Poor Neppucci…"

"Here." The girl grabbed one of barista's hands, placing down a handkerchief on it. "Chin up, you're a man."

"Th-Thank you.." With shaking hands, he accepted the sudden gift from the brunette. In the meantime, said girl stepped closer to the coffeehouse door, pushing it open.

The first thing that caught IF's attention were the two seemingly unconscious bodies on the floor. Her gaze then shifted to the notable dent on the wall to her left. Without looking away from it, she stepped forward and kneeled down, putting a hand on one of the motionless people's neck, as if to check their pulse.

"..Still alive." She slowly turned her head back to the dent. With narrowed eyes, her head tilted a bit. "Whatever caused that, though… Did the guy get thrown at the wall?" Iffy continued thinking out loud, examining the first body. Flipping it over and pressing her hand against the victim's chest, as if to feel something up, she quickly came to a conclusion.

Whoever this man was, he had more than half of his ribs broken.

"The benefits of having a nurse as a childhood friend.. But that answers my question." IF retracted her hand, kneeling on one of her legs and looking at the body. "Something probably launched him."

The girl stayed in the same position for what seemed like a few seconds, assessing her current situation.

According to the barista, Compa left before the wreckage began. But she wasn't unharmed, since her getting attacked was what sparked the fight. She should've asked the barista about who the new customer was before entering, or if there was anyone else inside the coffeehouse who could've gotten involved. Iffy doubted the bartender could say anything else right now.

At the moment, the best thing to do was to continue piecing the scene together. The brunette wasn't only looking for her possibly hurt friend, but also doing her job of ensuring peace around Planeptune. IF could try asking people if they saw where the nurse went afterwards. With that in mind, the katar wielder stood up from her current position and headed for the second body.

There weren't any signs of critical injury, but it was no secret this motionless figure lacked more life than its companion. Kneeling down before the unconscious man, IF hummed to herself and moved her head to both sides of the seemingly lifeless person. "No blood.." She muttered under her breath, reaching for his head, only to find a red-colored surprise awaiting her. "Scratch that…" Iffy's expression shifted to a more annoyed set of features, with the brunette averting her gaze. The aforementioned gaze later shifted to the barista's counter. Pressing both of her heels against the floor, she swept upward and headed for the stall.

A stab mark, presumably from a knife, and a little blood splatter. The latter seemed to have been caused by the body IF had just examined, hence the blood on the man's head. But where did the jab come from? So far, from what the detective in a blue coat had gathered, nobody carried a knife with them, most certainly not the torpid men. The entire puzzle was missing only one piece - a piece that, admittedly, Iffy could've collected at the start of the riddle.

According to the barista, the day was as smooth as silk. They were making coffee for a new customer, when suddenly, a fight broke out, and a big one. It was - hopefully - safe enough to assume that the offender was the new customer: only after their appearance did everything go sour. But, the underlying question still remained.

Who was the culprit?

IF's pondering was quickly adjourned with a vibrating sensation in her pocket. With a few movements, she was staring down the glowing display with emerald green eyes. "This better be worth it.." She mumbled to herself, tapping the screen almost excitingly. "Let's see…"

…

"..Attempting to start a nursing clinic.. Compiled a staff.. Cannot achieve our goal without funding- Argh, spam mail again.." Iffy groaned and dropped her hand down, her head arched back in frustration. Moments after, though, and mid motion, her eyes gaped open. "Wait, Compa!" The girl called out. "I still need to find her."

Having recalled an important task, IF headed towards the exit, and sneaked a quick glance at her phone screen. "Jeez.. What kind of friend am I to have spam mail, of all things, remind me of Compa?.." She shook her head slightly, cracking a weak smile.

Iffy wasted no time to put her flip phone away and reach for the door handle, pulling open the wooden portal. She stepped outside, and quickly began scanning the outdoor area. The group of people from before seemed to have lost a few members, and the barista was too occupied crying his eyes out. The investigating brunette's eyes suddenly landed on somebody standing out from the crowd, somebody she wished she'd never have to talk to.

Neppu Mia's mascot.

"..Do I _seriously_ have to interrogate this guy?" IF mumbled under her breath sarcastically, as she realized the inevitability of her current situation.

As frustrating as the man yelling in an incomprehensible accent about "nonna's meat-a-balls" was, he was the most reliable source of information at the moment. He always stood in the same place, with the same distance between him and the high-end establishment he was actively advertising. The mascot was bound to notice something, he had to know _something_ useful about Compa's whereabouts, or at least where she went.

Secretly hoping he wasn't about to talk her ears off about grand price drops, Iffy headed towards the restaurant's advertiser. Upon approaching her next lead, the brunette noticed their sudden recoil, which followed up with his not-so-well-hidden attempt of booking it out of the scene. IF knew this could last for a while, and decided to get a move on.

After what could be described as a mini marathon, her hand landed on the escapee's shoulder, but before she could get a word in, the mascot started yelling.

"Per favore, don't-a hurt me! Luigi did a nothing wrong! It was all Pablo!"

A facepalm sufficed to bring the panicking advertiser to a halt, with him taking it as an obvious hint that he should shut up and listen.

"Cut the stereotype crap. I have some questions I need you to answer." IF went straight to the point, it was clear as day she wanted to get this over with as soon as possible.

"A-Alright, what do you want-a me to say..?"

"What exactly happened in the café?" The questioning brunette pointed at Neppuccino, not looking away from the loud man. "You're standing in front of it every day, I won't take "I don't know" for an answer."

"O-Oh, you scared-a my pants off.." The mascot replied and turned around, taking off his chef cap and holding it in his hands. Now that he was up close, Iffy could determine he was a middle aged man, with dark eyes and short brown hair, with a typical over-the-top mustache plastered on his face. IF had a hard time telling if it was a real mustache or simply a wig.

"Shouting like a idiota has worked me to exhaustion! So I decided-a to sit and relax in my la sedia, when suddenly a young girl screamed in the cafeteria!"

"Mhm.." IF nodded, listening to the advertiser's tale.

"Two ragazzos wanted to violentare a young-a lady right there! But then, another lo giavanotto walked up and kicked-a their buttocks!"

"Go on.."

"Giavanotto then got-a stabbed in the side! And then.. He shoved a ragazzo into the wall-a and everything went-a boom! Like giavanotto was some prestigiatore!"

"..What does that mean?" A line formed in between the girl's eyebrows.

"Conjurer! Magician! I don't-a know! His-a hand glowed like flashlight, then ragazzo fly into wall and break it!"

"I see. Where did they go?"

"Ragazza with compo attraente and giavanotto magico went-a there!" The noisy mascot pointed behind himself. It didn't take IF long to notice that the hospital - Compa's workplace - was also that way.

"Thanks. One more question."

"Si?"

"What did the gi.. Gia.. _giavanotto_ look like?" A sweat trailed down IF's face as she barely uttered out the confusing word.

"Oh, giavanotto magico very weird man!" The advertiser put his finger up, as if educating the brunette. "He wear an outfit-a strano, all rosso and complesso! Also have coda di cavallo!"

"..And now, please, say it so that I can understand it."

"Pony tail!"

"Ponytail, right. Thanks a lot."

Just as Iffy was about to turn towards her motorcycle and walk away, a sudden shout caused her to flinch in surprise. "Aspettare!"

She turned her head back to the mascot, with a slightly annoyed expression. "You don't need to yell, you know. I'm right here."

"I want-a to ask you, love-a-ly ragazza, do you try our nonna's meat-a-balls for grande price drop-a!"

Iffy let out a small sigh, slumping her shoulders down slightly. "Maybe I'll try them later.."

"Urrà!" The mascot jumped, throwing his arms in the air. Suddenly, he grabbed the brunette's shoulders, kissing both her cheeks. "Grazie, grazie, grazie!"

"W-W-W-What do you think you're doing!?" The brunette stuttered uncontrollably, pushing the excited advertiser away moments after. Her voice was filled with anger and slight embarrassment, with IF trying her hardest to keep the latter hidden. "A-Are you crazy?!"

"O, mi dispiace, it's tradition to kiss people as sign of-a grato in mio paese!"

"I-Idiot..!" The detective remained unpleasant, however. "You can get accused of harassment, you know!"

"Aah, per favore, per favore, you want the offerta speciale still?"

"Yeah, sure, whatever." Beginning to take her leave, Iffy raised her right arm and gestured at the mascot, as if asking him to stop talking.

Well, at least she got the information she needed. Compa was attacked, then somebody stepped in to help her, and, during the fight, she ran out of the coffeehouse. The investigator decided to finally connect all the pieces of the puzzle.

"So firstly," She started, wrapping one of her arms around her midriff and letting her other arm rest on it - forming a thinking pose. "Compa was attacked, presumably by those two guys in the café. She then got saved by a weird guy with a ponytail and a red outfit.. I don't think there was anyone else involved, so he may have put that dent in the wall, as well."

IF hummed to herself a bit, before realizing she was at her destination - the trusty purple iron horse. By muscle memory, the girl sat down, maintaining her thinking pose. "Then, the ponytail guy got stabbed, later meeting Compa and getting escorted to the hospital…"

Iffy blinked a few times, staring into nowhere with a puzzled expression. "..A lot of things here don't really make sense."

Just as she realized there was something deviant in her case, a buzzing sound interrupted the girl.

"Better not be spam mail again.." IF reached for her phone strap.

* * *

"Alrighties, we're doone~!" A cheerful voice filled the hospital room, the nurse clapped her hands as a sign of accomplishment. "Told you it would only sting a wee bit!"

"I am now half-man, half-mummy." Emril replied jokingly, raising his arms slightly and looking at his fully bandaged midriff. "So now what, can I leave?"

"Nuh uh!" Compa shook her head, the girl's eyes turning into arrows. "You need to stay here and rest for a few days!"

"Oh, really..?" The man's shoulders slumped down, he shot a displeased glance at his caretaker. "I can't even stand up right now?"

"No, or the wound will open up!" Her tone was almost scolding. "You can sit up, but that's it!"

The young Von Liris laid back down on the hospital bed, ignoring its ice cold temperature. "Alright, fine, but can I at least get something to read? Don't know, that Industri Keepers book about the CPUs?"

Compa's expression shifted to an adorable smile, as she nodded. "Mhm! We got a lot of books, so you can read all you want!"

"Good, some way of killing time." Em cracked a smile, gazing at the cute nurse spring up from the seat and - unsuccessfully - trying to not pay attention to her bust bouncing up with her. "Anyway, um, someone called you earlier. I think you should ring them back, just in case."

"Hm?" She tilted her head, before moving her eyes towards the pink smartphone on the bedside table. Moments after, she reached for it, grabbing the device and flipping it face up.

"I heard it vibrating, but thought that interrupting a nurse while she's fixing a knife in my side's not really a good idea." Emril scratched his head, not looking away from Compa.

"Two missed calls…" A couple of taps on the display, and the girl's face was like that of a kid who had forgotten to do their homework. "Awwwwh, I'm so getting scolded..!"

"Something wrong?" The patient asked, slightly wary of the fact that anyone could chastise or reprimand such a cute nurse. The young Von Liris, still immobile due to his wounds having to heal, only followed Compa with his eyes.

"Don't move, I'll be back in a bit!" The suddenly distressed girl replied, making haste towards the hospital room's exit. In a few seconds, she disappeared behind the door frame, only the sounds of her shoes letting Emril know his candy-striper didn't completely evanesce.

Now all alone in the hospital room, the man rested his head on the hospital bed, closing his eyes. "See, right now a book would be amazing.." He muttered under his breath.

"You said book about the CPUs, right?" Compa adorably peeked through the open door.

"Wha-?" The healing man twitched in surprise, darting his eyes open and gazing at the nurse. "Oh, uh, yeah, book about CPUs. Industri Keepers."

"Okie dokie!" She beamed preciously, walking towards the man and pulling a blanket over his body, much like a caring mother would tuck in her little kids. "You need to stay warm, okay?" Without giving much time for an answer, the nurse disappeared behind the door frame. Suddenly, Emril heard her distressed voice. "Aaah, wrong way, the library's the other way!" Moments after speaking, Compa passed by the room again, holding her smartphone between palm and ear. Emril couldn't help but chuckle at the scene taking place in front of him.

"Hey Iffy!" The cheerful voice resonated through the hallways. "How ar- Huh? Yeah.. I'm okay, what's wrong?"

Silence followed suit, it was more than safe to assume that whoever was on the other side of the phone call had their fair share of things to say. Compa eventually broke the lingering quietude with a sheepish tone of voice. "Sorryyy.. I had to mute it, I was busy treating a patient.. W-Wait, how did you know?"

The caretaker went quiet again, her footsteps grew more distant. At this rate, the distance between Compa and the room was large enough for her words to be audible, but indistinguishable. Right now seemed like a good time to process the things he had heard from his nurse and this "Iffy" person she was talking to at the moment.

Wait a second, "Iffy"? Wasn't that awfully similar to the name of the brunette he had met before going to Neppuccino? Iffy.. IF-fy..

No, no way it was her Compa was talking with. It's impossible for the world to be _that_ tiny. Plus, maybe Iffy was a widespread name in this world? It didn't sound impossible for a world called "Gamindustri", for crying out loud, to have titles like that. Mayhaps, "Compa" was also a really popular name? Maybe, those two were big names in Planeptune, hence the population would choose to name their kids after them? So many unanswered questions..

Though, wait, the world had already proven itself to be small. What kind of coincidence would it have to be for two completely unrelated people to know that girl he had run into at the beginning of the day? Let alone, what were the odds for him to run into a CPU first thing in the morning? Emril didn't know whether that was stupidly lucky, or unluckily stupid.

And, of course, she had to disappear just as he was about to ask for help. The young Von Liris didn't care what IF had told him, he knew for a fact she pulled a vanishing act. He could feel it in his bones, and carefree lazy girls like Neptune never found a console and decided to take a walk somewhere afterwards. First thing they'd normally do is hightail it home where they could try playing on their newfound game console. Speaking of which, that security was about to say he remembered seeing something, but was quickly interrupted with a death stare from Iffy.

At this rate, Em had no idea whether to explore the new world after getting out of the hospital, or to try locating the brunette and questioning her.

At least he felt warmer than before, thanks to the blanket...

"Okie, no problem! See you, Iffy!"

As soon as the phone call ended, the cute nurse emerged from behind the door, almost as if staged. "I'm back, Em-Em! I got you a bookie book!" Compa waved with the phone in her hand, before entering the hospital room and offering her patient to take the book he had asked for. Emril wasted no time to accept the donation, taking the tome and examining it.

"Console Patron Unit Anatomy: A Medical Approach." The patient read the book's name out loud, in a solemn and slightly proud tone of voice. "Body measurements included."

After ensuring that everyone and everything in the room heard the title of the work, the curious lad eyed the girl, only to see her staring out the window on the other end of the room. It wasn't anything dramatic, or the sort of thing one'd see before hearing a heartbreaking backstory, Compa just seemed to be waiting for somebody to arrive.

The moment the airhead nurse turned around, Emril was already invested in reading Industri Keepers' latest publication about Gamindustri's Goddesses. After a few seconds of glancing at the man's inquisitive and almost sharp-witted expression, she approached the same chair that was carried across the room few minutes earlier, sitting down on it. Even though the setting seemed appropriate for a chat, the man's eyes were glued to the book, in a way that, even if he wanted to look away, he wouldn't be able to.

"..Em-Em?"

"Hm?" The reader's eyes widened slightly, still not looking away from the book.

"I still haven't thanked you for risking your life for me, soo.." A beaming smile followed, as Compa got closer to the busy man. "Thank you, Em-Em!"

Despite still being occupied with the "Console Patron Unit Anatomy" opus, the corners of Von Liris' mouth curled up into a smile. Moments after, he slightly shook his head and let out a breath, seemingly unable to focus anymore.

"Oh, what the hell.." Emril blinked, closing the book and moving his right hand over to the nurse's head. He then proceeded to pat the cute girl, earning another endearing smile in response.

While our characters are occupied with head pats, let me describe you the hospital room. Aside from being more high-end than anything, the room wasn't anything completely out of the ordinary: the wall Von Liris' temporary bed stood against was painted with colors matching the city landscapes, seen from outside the large window which was to his right. The lighting inside the room, if excluding the aperture, came from two narrow, but long lines on the ceiling, emanating a warm glow. The large empty table, where all of the patient's equipment was resting, stood close to the glass opening, and another table - a smaller one - stood next to the hospital bed. A simplistic vase of abloom and divine lilies stood on the bedside table, the plants enjoyed the blessed golden light of the sun, boasting about their incomparable beauty. Of course, there was also a closet near the open entrance door: the upper half displayed glass doors, with said transparent material allowing clear view inside the sterile closet. The lower half, though, was shut with two little purple doors, it was easy to assume there were more pieces of medical equipment behind them. It was also easy to assume the piece of furniture had little to no germs on it.

The doorway had a unique decoration to it, as well. Inside the door frame was an average height human figure, with long loose brown hair and a blue coat. The silhouette's left hand was positioned next to its face, using a finger to scratch its own cheek.

"Errrm.. I'm not exactly sure what I walked into, here."

Oh, nevermind, it was IF.

"Huh?" Compa's eyes darted open, only to catch sight of her childhood standing awkwardly next to the door. "Iffyyy~!" She called out, full of cheer as she sprung up from her seat, quickly approaching IF and embracing her tightly. The brunette hugged back, noticing the male figure on the hospital bed turning to face her way.

As their eyes met, Emril crooked an eyebrow, and Iffy let go of Compa, repeating after the familiar male. A few seconds of silence followed suit, with the nurse stepping aside, as if to let them see each other better.

The two brunettes gazed at each other intensely, the silence between them seemingly eternal.

" _...You?_ "

* * *

 **Early upload again! The magic of vacation!  
** **I noticed how each chapter gets longer and longer, in before the epilogue's 20k words or something X) (that's totally not happening, don't worry)  
** **As always, really hope you liked this chapter, I'd love to hear your feedback and possibly improve my work even further. So don't be shy about leaving comments on my story, constructive criticism helps me get better :P**


	6. Reunited

You could name any one public place in a nation akin to Planeptune—a bright, merry, modern utopia—and each one would be more cheerful and energetic than the previous. It seemed to be the rule of a metropolis like the one our tale took place in: had there been any sort of negativity, it was considered abnormal, almost alien. Similar to the coffeehouse wreckage, and the dumbfounded faces everybody had worn at that hour.

If one was to bring up exceptions from the former statement,—the land of Purple Progress being at its peak performance nearly full-time—they actually wouldn't have to look very far. The two brunettes had to meet sooner or later…

"..You?"

And they sure did. Emril and IF haven't shown any signs of bother about the circumstances of their surprise get-together. Firstly, they were in a hospital—a lively location despite there being many sick and—potentially—dying people around. Secondly, despite his torso being naked, the wounded man was currently showing more snow white bandages than skin. And finally, to the scene's dismay, the discomfort emanating from Compa and the harshness emanating from the two brunettes gave form to a blend of feelings which worked worse than mixing oil with water. And the two substances never even blended together.

"W-Wow.. You two know each other?.." Finally, even if with an awkward question, the silence was lifted, by none other than the airheaded nurse.

"We sure do…" Iffy murmured, maintaining her death glare at Von Liris. There was at least _some_ progress to rid the hospital room of this almost painful hush.

"Ran into her before Neppuccino, Comp- _Cough cough!_ "

The quiet inside Emril's temporary shelter mimicked a clean windowpane, furiously smashed with a sledgehammer. Much like the reaction you'd expect from hearing a busted window, Compa jumped at the loud coughing fit the formerly stabbed patient had thrown. With a fist pressed against his lips, Von Liris barely uttered out in between his hacks: "Get.. _cough!_ water..! _Cough cough!_ "

Having determined that the man probably hadn't had a drop of water in his mouth since dawn, the pink-haired candy-striper nodded. "Alright, I'll be back in a sec!" She replied and booked it for the door frame, exiting into the long hospital corridors, the endearing girl's shoes click-clacking resoundingly.

The Guild agent crooked her eyebrow as she guided a childhood friend out of the room with curiously intelligent eyes, secretly hoping Compa would maintain her promise and return as soon as possible. This would sound strange, but, even though IF was terrific at keeping her own ground and approaching the most dangerous situations alone, having the nurse around was like sitting near a fireplace on a cold night—it made her feel warm, almost snug.

The bed of coals mentioned prior would be whispering low, each flame dispensing an indiscernible secret. Inviting and amber, the fire's light dancing vigorously would be accompanied by crackling and popping as the oak logs would slowly melt into ash. Only thinking about it made Iffy tempted to invite Compa out on a picnic, ending their evening with a few minutes—or hours..?—of sitting comfortably near the bright flames, feeling each other's warmth in the meantime..

…

IF rapidly shook her head.

'Snap out of it, IF!' The suddenly starry-eyed agent thought to herself. "This is not the time to be daydreaming."

"The only thing I'm dreaming of right now's getting out of this hospital, in case you're wondering." She heard a collected, disembodied voice responding to her statement. _Wait, she said that out loud?_ "You know Compa?"

"W-Why do you care?.." Iffy crossed arms on her chest, shooting a skeptical glance at the standing Emril, spectating as he reached for a brown shoulder bag and quickly—as if ripping off a band-aid—pulled the buckles connected to the buttons. Accompanied by a loud "pop", the sack came open, Von Liris wasted no time and reached inside, paying no mind to the embarrassed brunette.

"No reason, really. Just curious." The ponytailed man turned his head, his right hand still rummaging through the bag's contents. "Also, I can determine if someone's stargazing or not."

"Just tell me what you're doing here…" IF rubbed her face against her colder-than-normal palms, hands muffling her voice slightly.

"After we split ways," Von Liris began retelling the events that occurred to him prior, all words spoken in one breath. "I decided I need to go to a coffeehouse, I hadn't eaten or drunk anything since morning and it's past midday by now. I found a "Neppuccino", which's where I thought I'd get my food."

Catching a few seconds to stay silent and concentrate on groping things up in his carrier, IF took the spotlight. "So _you_ left two people knocked out and barely alive? And that dent in the wall is your thing, too?"

"You didn't let me finish." Emril suddenly lifted his seeking arm, average-sized bottle of a dirty yellow liquid in his grip. "I was waiting for my order, and those two guys suddenly thought it'd be a really smart and fun idea to.. _do something_ with your friend. And, since I literally can't stay aside and watch it happen, I decided to step in."

Using a free hand, the patient pointed at his side as he moved over to the hospital bed. Iffy's expression shifted slightly, but noticeably; a wave of goosebumps gently riding her back. "A normal break at a café later turned into a big scene, at the end of which some guy decided to stab me. Hey," the arm mentioned previously suddenly swooshed up, shifting its target of gun point from the bandaged injury to the diligent agent, "before you say anything, they had it coming. One guy was trying to choke me out, and the other literally stabbed me. I'm sorry, but I had to fight back."

"Even though, one of them has his ribcage broken, and the other's head is bleeding?" A line formed in between IF's eyebrows.

"They're still alive, no?" Emril spread his arms out, as if provoking the girl to come get him, as he pushed his chin out in front. The man's left leg moved up slightly, followed up with Von Liris getting into bed, still holding onto the bottled substance. "Sure, they may be pretty beat up, but it was self-defense."

"You know, you could've been less destructive.." IF scoffed at the foreign man, the wind walker took a step back and pressed her right shoulder against the door frame, moving her right leg to cross the left. "Who's gonna fix that dent you left in the wall?"

"I'm pretty sure your CPU can think of something."

His eyes widened slowly, lighting up as another thought came into the young adult's head. "Oh, that's a whole nother topic for discussion.."

Before Emril could let out a single breath, Iffy sighed loudly, almost groaning as the agent's eyes shut tight. She pinched the bridge of her nose, obviously agitated. "Not this again…"

"Don't blame me for being interested." The man shrugged his shoulders, cracking open the bottle cap of his drink. Em arched his head back, silently sipping on the mysterious drink and striking the appearance of a man—or woman—from a beverage advertisement: closed eyes, harmonious facial expression, the liquid inside of his flask swaying appealingly, and the background of an evening cityscape made the foreigner resemble a Nepsi advertisement a Planeptune citizen would recognize instantly.

Von Liris' gaze lowered a few seconds after, with the man completely oblivious to the thought of having just made the Guild agent witness a reenactment of a TV commercial. "I think we can both agree that the guard at the tower wasn't talking about a book before you glared at him like at some serial murderer." Emril's tone remained calm, but somewhat lively. Trusting his gut, the man softly waved the decanter lookalike in his palm before shifting his attention to the angered agent.

"I think we can both agree that you never had any right to force the information out of the guard, too." Iffy's both feet landed on the floor, with the girl pushing herself off the door frame and standing straight, a hand confidently resting on her hip. "Especially after I made it obvious that whatever he was about to say was classified."

"So, I won't get any info? Do you wanna keep me here, IF?" The patient tilted his head with a provoking smirk plastered on his face. Quickly emptying his bottle of whatever, he continued. "What is it, my charming smile? Or my witty jokes?"

"Nobody is trying to keep you here, bu-"

"Then tell me if she's even in this dimension right now or not." Von Liris cut off the brunette before she could finish speaking, blinking as his smirk morphed into slightly parted lips. "That's all I need to hear from you, so that I know where to look."

"Don't get ahead of yourself, Emril." The brown-haired girl wasted no time to respond. "You're still a regular citizen, I was never obliged to tell you anything."

"Seriously..? Not even a yes or no question?" The man's shoulders slumped down and his eyebrows narrowed, imitating a little child who has found socks under their Christmas tree. Emril turned away, and raised his hands, like one would if someone was quickly approaching them with a weapon. "Alright, fine, I get it, nothing on that front. But can I at least get a "thank you"? You know, sitting in a hospital with bandages on me's not necessarily the most comfortable setting. And don't get me wrong," His gaze now focused on a trash bin next to the brunette's feet, Emril's legs crossed themselves in the meantime. "Compa's a really nice girl and everything, the nicest person I've met here so far, but.." The patient suddenly darted his arm forward, similar to the way he did back in the sakura park with Neptune. His emptied bottle gracefully flew across the room, earning a step to the left from Von Liris' interlocutor and a thud from inside the litter basket. "She might as well be just doing her job as a nurse. She did nothing that's beyond her line of work, you know?"

"...Are you hinting at something?" IF's annoyed expression grew into that of repellence and disgust, like something awful had popped into her mind.

"And what could I possibly be hinting at? Warm blankets and cuddles near a campfire? A pat on the shoulder and a kiss on the cheek?" Emril riposted with a sarcastic tone of voice and lowered brows, his retort made Iffy's eyes widen. _How did he know what she was thinking about a few seconds ago?_ "I'm not asking you anything major, alright? If not even an answer to my question, then at least a thanks for saving your lover."

"L-L-Lo-Lover?!" The set of emerald green eyes the agent had worn her entire life gaped open like a garage door. A pair of shining red orbs decorated the brunette's features the moment Von Liris' last word reached her ears, the collection of sounds serving as fuel for her heart to send a relentless love-colored stream towards her face. Were Compa here, even she would think there was something on IF's mind.

"Oh, you haven't confessed yet?" Initially choosing to react with surprise, a grin spread out on Emril's mien like a disease. "Well, I'm not gonna do anything for you. But a bit of friendly advice—try not to go wool gathering anytime she's around, alright? Think you can manage?"

Had there been any one analogy that could describe how the young foreigner felt at the moment, teasing such an astute, sharp-tongued girl was like rotating a bomb right in front of his nose, seconds away from detonation—and, even though he wasn't known for having a death wish, Emril was loving every single moment of it.

"D-Don't interfere with other's affairs!" IF began attempting to craft her verbal comeback, despite the uncontrollable stuttering. "A-And stop fantasizing! O-Of course that's not true!" Confidently crossing her arms on her chest, the agent looked away with a slight pout, the blush standing strong. She almost looked cute. "And ev-e-even if we were l.. lo.."

"Lovers."

"D-Don't interrupt me!" The blundering agent shot an angry glare at Emril. "E-Even if we were.. _that_.. I wouldn't need your help, to begin with."

The man chuckled, shaking his head slightly with an amused facial expression. Von Liris' gaze shifted back to the CPU anatomy book under his left hand, the man lifted the volume up and quickly opened it, with his feet pressed to the bed's mattress and the tome propped against his knees. "Whatever you say, Iffy."

"I-Iffy?! W-Where did you even get that from?!" Stomping her foot against the floor, the flustered girl stepped forward, soon regretting the question.

"From Compa, who else? It's either that, IF, or Miss IF, and you probably know I'm not someone who likes putting extra labels on people. Plus, IF gets boring after a while." A reply was heard seconds after, Emril's olive green irises jumping towards the teased victim, which rewarded him with an intelligent, yet sneaky look. "Speaking of which, I wonder where she is. I may not be coughing to death, but I'd still like some water. Could you please check on her?" Von Liris' final request, before his attention was grabbed by the Goddess book.

Though Emril was getting annoying,—or so IF had thought—he wasn't wrong by any means. Quickly, the agent's mind flipped the switch from being a blushing, stuttering mess to the serious and collected front the marked man was already familiar with. Saying no more, she took a few steps back, literally following Compa's footsteps before unknowingly running into somebody. The two ladies recoiled in pain: a quick yelp of surprise, a hand to both of their heads, and a closed eye as a sign of displeasure was enough to describe their current state, which'd soon be shoved aside to instead concentrate on more important things at hand. Unfortunately for the pink-haired caretaker, the glass of water in her hand was now only half full. Or, as some would say, half empty.

"What took you so long?" A single loud question escaped the wind walker.

"Ow ow ow owww…" Albeit off topic, the nurse made it known—in IF's case, reminded—that she was everything but a tough cookie. "A lot of people needed me to help them with work.. I couldn't say no..!" Arrows formed in place of Compa's eyes, the innocent girl's features displaying an almost heartbreaking frown.

"Aren't you too nice, Compa?" A male voice resounded from within the hospital room the collision took place next to. Upon hearing the familiar tone, the pink-haired nurse's eyes lit up: she remembered there was water to be delivered to the patient.

"Coming, Em-Em~!" She called out in return, cheerfully turning to face the teasing foreigner and stepping towards the room's entrance. The nurse's attention seemingly concentrated only on Emril, Compa was too late to notice her left leg betraying the girl's balance and slipping forward, which the former pink-haired klutz reacted to with a panicked "Waah!", loud enough to be heard on the entire third floor of the polyclinic. Like a god at the end of a deus ex machina play, a blue-sleeved arm came to the rescue and slipped under Compa's upper back, with IF catching the water puddle's victim in her embrace, like you would see during a ballroom dance. The few moments of quiet were shattered, and so was the glass of water that tragically never made it to the parched Emril Von Liris.

"There, I got you, you're good..." Iffy muttered to herself, more as a self-reassuring mechanism than words of comforting as she looked down at her childhood friend resting cozily in the agent's arms. "Are you alright?" She asked, more confidently this time.

"Y-Yeah.. Hehe, my bad..." Compa let her fingers drift across her soft cheek repeatedly, a cute and slightly awkward giggle escaping her parted lips. Much like the bearded patient's lingering word,—"lover"—the sound of her darling, almost enchanting chuckle was a catalyst for IF's mouth to curl up into a warm smile, which she tried—and failed—to suppress not long after.

A little drop of sweat slowly trickled down Iffy's cheek. It was getting hot in there, wasn't it?..

…

"..Um, you do know I'm still here, right girls?" Emril was torn away from the educational book once again as he addressed the two, unable to help but feel like he's seeing two lovebirds on a date. "Just, get a room and figure it out, I'll be alright."

"C-Can you not?!" The infamous red-faced, stuttering IF has made a comeback, shooting an agitated glare at the marked foreigner. She may have looked annoyed like before, but mentally, the flustered brunette was eternally thankful; of course, she would never admit it. Back on both her feet, Compa simply glanced back and forth between the two, her features being an honest, straightforward replica of how she felt at the moment—lost.

The group could've sworn that not only did the air around them grow stagnant and stiff, but the entire hospital floor went awfully quiet, like every living being on the storey was spectating them, waiting for something to happen. One of the brunettes had quieted down like he was requested to, the other—surprisingly—was at a lack of words. The healer in the group was running phrases through her mind, thinking how to apologize to her droughty savior.

"I'm so sorry, Em-Em!" Unlike last time, when the silence was figuratively destroyed by a coughing sledgehammer, this time the hush was lifted more gently, delicately. "I can get you another cup if you want!"

"Hold your horses, Compa." He replied calmly, his voice seemingly pacifying the nurse, even if a little. "I'm not dying of dehydration, am I? But, to be honest.." As Emril was about to address one of his wishes, his stomach took the liberty of clarifying the idea, growling loudly; the worrying caretaker noticed that her patient likely hadn't had a single crumb in his mouth since dawn. "..Thanks for interrupting me, stomach." Von Liris finished, jokingly furrowing his eyebrows at his wrapped, but interruptive abdomen.

"Oh, you must be starving!" Soon after the realization wave hit the nurse, her clenched hands rose up to sit on the same level as her admirable chest, her face showing a smile the man knew and—for the lack of a better word—loved. "You sit right there, I will bring you the tastiest lunch you ever had!" The tenacity this girl was beaming with proved hard to ignore; Emril was starting to feel like he wouldn't be able to get to the book until both of them either fell asleep or went home.

"O-Oh, I'll come with you." The familiar, suddenly softer voice of the pink-haired klutz's secret crush made itself heard, with Iffy's back facing the temporary bookworm. "I'm pretty sure Emril doesn't need a babysitter. Or do you need diaper changing, Em?" The brunette turned around to face her teaser, finally making a proper rejoinder.

" _I have a heavy book._ " Von Liris deadpanned, raising the hefty volume as if he was about to send it flying towards the Guild agent. "Do you wanna be _educated_ about CPU body measurements?"

"I'll take that as a no." For the first time in their short time of knowing each other, Von Liris noticed IF cracking a cheeky smile, before disappearing behind the door frame along with Compa. Their steps echoed through the corridors, gradually fading away as they got further away from the marked patient's hospital room; the lack of their presence made Emril's ears work hard to adjust to the sudden silence in his short-term shelter, despite there being a decent amount of noise on the clinic's third floor.

At last, he was allowed to continue his reading.

Flipping open the tome and jumping to the needed page (thanks to a makeshift bookmark in the form of his thumb), the inquisitive foreigner's eyes first landed on a simple four-letter word, which was replied to with narrowed eyebrows and a slightly confused facial expression.

"Pain.." He read out loud, suddenly intrigued and off-put by the discovery, by whatever the paragraph tried to convey in the first place. Wasting no time, Em located the beginning of the sentence, beginning to retell the words on the page under his breath. "It's widely believed that, upon successfully using a CPU Memory, the first transformation causes a lot of pain to its user, sometimes enough for the person to faint… So far, there hasn't been a single recorded instance of fainting after using a Memory in Gamindustri, but the risk may arise… Should you notice a CPU reverting to their human form and going limp, immediately call the ambulance. Keep in mind that the CPU Memories located near an Anti-Share crystal are highly dangerous and should be avoided at all costs: the successful use will result in the victim turning into a corrupt version of a CPU, much like the ones recorded during the three years of Deity Of Sin's reign; the unsuccessful use will result in _immediate death_." The hungry patient put an emphasis on the last two words that were calmly written in the book, a wave of chills trickled down Emril's spine as his gaze tore away from the pages. A pair of daffodil yellow eyes scanned the room.

For a second, he was ready to bet all his money that there was someone watching him.

* * *

"Em-Em is a really good patient." Compa said happily, the girl held her hands laced together on the same level as her nether regions, arms straight. A familiar beam was displayed on her face, the cute set of features seemingly common for the pink-haired nurse, as she walked down the halls with a friend by her side—a brunette. Unknown to the naїve girl, her agent friend was also wearing a smile—one of uncertainty.

"I'm.. not sure I can say the same." IF murmured under her breath, hoping it was only audible to herself. Which, to her dismay, it wasn't.

"Hmm? Did you say something, Iffy?"

"Oh, uh, it's nothing. Don't worry." Waving her hands symmetrically, the brown-haired girl defused the awkward situation before it began, picking up the walking pace. "Let's go, or else Em will scold us for being late."

"Okay!" Compa followed the wind walker obediently and silently, the sounds of their steps filled the air around them as the girls progressed towards their destination—one of the two elevator cabins in front of them. IF, being the one in the lead, didn't hesitate and pressed the silver button, which reacted with a purple light glowing around its circular outline.

The iron doors responded with silence, the cabin presumably on its way to the third floor of Planeptune Hospital. Quickly noting that the elevator—or, as she had called it, the "metallic box"—was yet to arrive, IF propped her back against the white wall and reached for her phone strap, flipping the device open. Compa, upon seeing her smart and admirable childhood friend browsing something, quickly widened her eyes and called out to IF.

"Oh, Nep-Nep World is reopening!" The nurse cheerfully informed, like a child would tell their mom about their favorite toy starting to sell in local stores. "We should go there someday! It would be really fun! Hey, maybe we can take Nep-Nep with us!"

To Compa's surprise, no answer was received, at least not yet. Iffy found herself in a maze of doubts, tracing back to the events during the Deity Of Sin's sovereignty: the last time the brunette had slipped with information regarding Neptune's poor well-being, the innocent airhead wouldn't rest easy until she was a part of the rescue team, and such was the case here.

"Iffy?.." A single callout dragged the brunette out of her decisive thinking, throwing IF into having to answer the pleading look her partner was mercilessly delivering. The agent's expression was able to be described with one phrase: "That would be incredibly difficult for reasons I don't want to name."

"Err.." One last uncertainty before Iffy's idea factory stopped working, giving in to her sentimental side. She failed to notice as the two had entered the elevator cabin. "About that… We can't. Nep is stuck in another dimension."

As soon as the news reached the no longer unsuspecting girl's ears, Compa's facial expression turned sour.

"Huh!? Again?! We need to save her!" IF, having predicted her childhood friend's displeased reaction, accordingly placed her hand in front of the anxious nurse.

"Relax, now." She retorted, green gleaming eyes narrowing slightly. "Even if you manage to get through me, we still need to wait for Histoire to make some progress. Locating someone in an unknown dimension takes a while." A couple of upward swipes through her phone followed, the agent was confident that even Compa's persistence wouldn't be able to accelerate the Oracle; anything serious she did sadly took three hours, or three days—three anything, in general.

"But, but, but she must be so lonely and scared! Can't we help in any way?" Her pleas bleeding into begging, the worried nurse closed in on Iffy, almost trying to catch the brunette's attention to follow up with her deadly puppy eyes, which she knew the agent could barely resist. This time, though, the girl's attempts proved to be fruitless, thanks to the cellular device in IF's hands.

"Compa, it's Nep. Do you really think she'd be scared of anything?" The agent moved her phone aside as their eyes finally met, through the speaking girl made absolute sure her point'd come across one way or another. "She once ate a four-month old pudding without even batting an eye. Besides, Gear is with her, too, so they'll be fine."

No matter how tenacious the nurse was, going against pure logic from a sharp-tongued girl like Iffy wouldn't prove successful. It made sense, really: Neptune was known for getting dragged into ridiculous situations like the current one. Falling into different dimensions, dragging other people into said dimensions, worrying people but staying carefree and cheerful regardless—it was something the short-haired CPU was notorious for. Well, that and constantly labeling herself "the protagonist of all protagonists".

In any case, all Compa could do was sigh in defeat and slump her shoulders down, frowning at the agent which was less than a meter away from her. "Fine… But if anything comes up, you must call me! Promise?"

IF, being the acute and collected Guild agent she was, knew her limits more than well: firstly, she was physically unable to take on a CPU, and secondly, she was mentally unable to lie to her companion. With a sigh, she obliged. "Promise."

"Mmm.. Oh!" The surprising change of heart—from sad and begging to cheerful and jumpy—earned a flinch from the brunette, she blinked a few times and looked up. "Pinky promise?" Having the said finger hovering on the same level with Compa's chest, she decorated her features with an endearing smile. "Like when we were tiny little kids!"

Unable to contain it, Iffy cracked a smile, letting out a few quiet giggles. "Oh, come on.. Seriously?" She asked jokingly.

"Yep!" With expectant eyes, the nurse wouldn't let go of the opportunity until it was followed through, which IF had to help with. Shaking her head slightly, the katar wielder let the large blue sleeve roll down a little to reveal her wrist, their pinkies slowly wrapped around one another, with Compa still smiling adorably and IF still wearing an uncertain look in her irises complimented with a smirk. Even though the pinky promise was fulfilled, neither of them let go, and instead maintained their eye contact with each other. That would last until a loud "Dingle-ee-doo!" intervened and let the girls know: the longer-than-usual elevator trip was over, and they were now on the ground floor.

Iffy slid her pinky finger out of the embarrassing, but somewhat endearing promise with Compa as her gaze snapped towards the sliding doors. Half-heartedly, the agent found herself worrying about accidentally offending her cute partner, but the worry was quickly washed away after the sight of her beaming and leaving the elevator reached the girl's emerald eyes. "Alright, let's go!" The nurse addressed IF almost beckoningly, signaling her bestie to follow. A few moments after exiting the cabin, the wind walker took note of something she was less than a fan of: her face brandished an obvious red tint, coating Iffy's cheeks in a soft blush.

With a pair of soft coughs, IF lifted the flustering tension before joining Compa on her trip to the wooden door on their left, which showed few little glass panes here and there and allowed a curious boy or girl to peep inside. Their destination—the door—served as a café entrance from within the hospital lobby, which was made evident by a vibrant sign above that simply read: "Planeptune Hospital Café". As the wooden portal came open, thanks to the cheerful nurse somehow making a door opening look adorable, the two girls stepped inside the fine establishment, and instantly noticed the shift in smells. The former whiff of medicine and cleaners was replaced by a pungent aroma of cakes, snacks, and the one and only hero of many—coffee.

"Hello!" The candy-striper called out in between the ringing sounds that gracefully followed their entrance, with IF following her shortly after. A combination of beige and darkwood was seen inside the establishment, serving as wall decoration while the floor boasted an appealing shade of pink. The café door was guarded by two plant pots, and to the right was a big window which overlooked the streets of Planeptune. Another door was placed here, mainly used by outsiders like healthy students and citizens that weren't in need of a routine health check or treatment.

Much like everything else, the atmosphere was different as well. A group of young teenagers were seated around one of the tables, throwing witty quips and jokes at one another while also going starry-eyed from the pastries served to them. Nearby was a semi-free stand, the young woman behind it delighted to see the customers satisfied with their sweets and snacks. Moments after the melodic ringing announced IF and Compa entering, the server's eyes darted their way, and her mouth curled into a warming smile. "Welcome! What can I get you today?"

"Hello! Well, hmm… Can we get a uhh.. Err…" An embarrassed look took over the caretaker's face as she awkwardly stood like a stump, clearly lost. "I… Didn't think about what we're getting..."

A soft push followed, Iffy sighed playfully as she took Compa's spot at the counter. "Jeez, Compa.. You always freeze while ordering food." A rapid peek at the menu later, IF addressed the woman at the stand: "We'll take a medium sized Four Cheeses pizza for lunch."

The server nodded, "Alright, are you getting any desserts or beverages?"

It was here that the brunette's confidence started to dwindle. After only a few words, Iffy found herself stretching out a somewhat audible "Err…" and giving Compa a light shove with her elbow, while seemingly hoping the server wouldn't notice. It was clear as day that she saw it, but IF chose to believe she didn't.

"Umm, I'll have a nice slice of strawberry cake!" Compa delivered, dropping a miniature boulder off her bestie's back, if only for a few seconds. "What about you, Iffy?"

"Choc-" Barely stopping her teeth from biting her tongue, IF soon realized that an automated reply to such a taste related question wouldn't do much good. Slightly stuttering, she continued: "I-I mean.. I'll also take strawberry."

Instead of a regular "OK" or a nod from the server, what the flustered Iffy got in response was a sneaky wink. "We have a strawberry chocolate cake, if you want."

"Oh, sure. I'll take that, then." The agent nodded quickly, soon getting another question from the woman: "Anything else?"

"Mmm… Oh!" Compa exclaimed suddenly, earning a little flinch from both the server and the brunette. "We need to get something for Em-Em too!"

"And what will you get for that stump?" IF raised an eyebrow, her tone of voice mocking and almost deprecating as she placed a hand against her hip. "He didn't tell us what to get."

"Umm… I don't really know, I didn't ask him…" A question mark popped up above the nurse's head while she softly scratched her chin. "..But my nurse senses tell me he likes chocolate!" She pointed out, the same finger which was at her chin now pointing upwards, as if Compa was educating both girls.

"So," the server began to recite, "your order is one medium-sized Four Cheeses pizza, one slice of strawberry cake, one slice of strawberry chocolate cake, and one slice of chocolate cake. Is that correct?"

"Uh huh!" Compa replied with a quick nod, showing an irresistible smile.

"Alright, you'll have to wait a bit while I prepare your order, so you may take a seat at one of the tables," she explained formally, pointing a hand towards a nearby round table with four chairs next to it. The seats were free. "Can I have your name, please?"

"Compa!"

"OK, Compa, I'll inform you when your order is done. You may sit at one of the tables in here while waiting." Having written their order down in a handy notepad, the server flashed a warm smile before turning around and heading towards a door, which led to a room exclusive for the café workers. As soon as she left, the two girls found themselves in a bit of an awkward situation: even if the room was full of happy chatter and nice company, time still had to be killed somehow, which—at least to Iffy—proved to be a pretty daunting task to undertake.

Without much else to do, the agent quickly referred to her trusty phone, neatly opening the strap and wasting no time to start browsing the news. 'Nothing too special,' she thought: a good quest at the Guild to start the next day with, a massive discount at the best Hair Snepper in the city, a news article about why pudding is good for one's health, a sensation of soft breaths rubbing against her neck- Wait a second.

"Ooh, that's a good warm-up quest for tomorrow!" Compa's cheerful, but sudden voice made IF turn her head without much thought, and thus was greeted by an overwhelming sensation—the nurse's soft and kissable lips pursed against her cheek. Even if accidental, it was enough to bring color to the brunette's face, as well as make her step away. "C-Compa! What did I tell you about getting so close so suddenly?!" Iffy blundered, staring at her childhood friend with a flustered face.

"Hehe, you're so cute when you blush." A cute giggle followed in response, it was clear that the candy-striper was feeling cheeky at the moment. Few seconds of looking at Compa and her priceless smile were followed up with a sigh, IF soon averted her gaze and approached the counter. "W-Well.. Fine, you can p-peek if you want to.."

Nothing but a happy nod was the reply. The emerald-eyed girl went back to browsing her phone, with the nurse inquisitively peeping over her shoulder. Quickly, the two lost track of time, and all their attention poured into the Nepstation website.

* * *

 **Five minutes later…**

…

"Compa, your order is ready." Surprising and gentle was the caller's voice. Tearing their gazes away from IF's phone, Compa and the agent eyed the lady and their food, which was neatly sitting on the counter top and waiting to be paid for.

"Alrighty, let me just reach for my handy dandy nurse's pouch, and-" Both her actions and words were interrupted by Iffy, who was already twirling around a little BNNV Standard purple credit card in her hands. "No, let-let me handle it, I'll pay." The brunette was aware that the server noticed her credit card, and so the woman at the stall reached for a terminal, pressing all the right buttons for "Waiting for card…" to appear on its little screen. A quick swipe and few button presses later, IF put her credit card back to the inside pocket she got it from, and peeked at the bank terminal. "Transfer complete," it said lifelessly, and soon after printed a check, which was torn out by the server and given to the girls.

"Thank you for coming, please enjoy your meal." The server smiled full-heartedly, her tone of voice dripping with honey as she watched IF and Compa head out, with the brunette responsible for delivering the pizza and the nurse following her, dessert in hand.

Now back in the familiar lobby, the food carriers wasted no time heading for the same elevator that brought them to the ground level. Soon after leaving the cheery café, the nurse parted her lips: "That lady was so nice~," she smiled innocently, and though IF was not facing Compa's way, the peachette had a lurking suspicion about her reply.

"And a bit too prying…" IF replied with a little snicker, her voice confident and somewhat irritated, though the latter seemed to be more sarcastic. The answer to the girl's little remark was a question mark atop Compa's head, accompanied with a curious look. "Huh? What do you mean?" Only turning halfway, the brunette tried to wave off the subject like a fly—with a free hand—but the pizza box in her arms didn't allow that, so she had to suffice with a tiny head shake. "Ah, nothing, don't worry."

"Oh, okay! I hope Em-Em likes his cake, though." Having received a small nod of acknowledgement, Iffy quickly tapped the silver button to summon the elevator, and, to her slight surprise, the doors opened right away, inviting the girls for a ride. Compa followed her childhood friend inside the cabin, its interior already getting invaded by the pleasant, appetizing scent of pizza as the brunette tapped yet another button—one that led to the third floor. Slowly, but surely limiting the girls' vision of the hospital's main lobby, the doors slid closed, and the metallic box gently began its trip to their destination.

The two stood quietly, savoring the fragrance of their warm pizza.

…

"Oh," Compa called out suddenly, not loud enough to earn a flinch from IF, "speaking of Em-Em… I don't think I can join you at the Guild tomorrow." As she spoke, a little frown appeared on the nurse's face, turning the usually cheerful and adorable candy-striper into a girl who even the heartless would want to comfort. Taking notice of it, the agent crooked an eyebrow, turning her head. "Huh? What does that have to do with Emril?"

"Well… I'm going to be watching over him until he bounces back on his feet," the caretaker explained, her facial expression showing no signs of wavering.

"Oh come on, that guy can handle himself just fine." Though Iffy's protest was nowhere far from true, it didn't convince Compa, but only gave her a platform. "Maybe, but that's the least I can do for him, since he saved me." A sudden mood shift followed, the nurse quickly wore a determined smile and look in her eyes. "And it's still my job as a nurse to make sure everyone has a clean bill of health!"

"Okay, I can handle my own, so no worries." The agent chose to reassure her childhood friend, but the answer was the direct opposite to that: IF didn't need Compa to say anything to know that swearing an oath was necessary. "I swear I'll be careful. Just don't tell me we need to pinky promise again…" The latter sentence came out in a more sarcastic tone, with the acute brunette cracking a smirk at the nurse. Compa giggled softly: "Hehe, don't worry, I trust you."

With that sorted out, the brunette was left with her own thoughts, and quickly would she find herself mulling over one of the many things Emril had said. " _Oh, you haven't confessed yet?"_ The man's voice echoed in Iffy's head; It made her think: how did a complete stranger expect her to have already confessed when she didn't even ask Compa out once? Did she act so head-over-heels that even an offcomer noticed? Maybe IF could try asking the nurse out..? That offer the Neppu Mia mascot had made still stood, so it was doable…

'This is my chance… It's not like I'm confessing or anything, I'm just asking her out… Like a friend would…' Slipping into a tiny stargazing session for a moment, the agent soon shrugged it off, starting to ponder about every action she could take countless times. As the girl reached a conclusion, she opened her mouth slightly: "H-Hey, Co-"

 _Dingle-ee-doo!_

The rude elevator interrupted Iffy as it proudly announced their arrival to the third floor. As soon as the grey doors unveiled a familiar hallway, Compa happily stepped out of the cabin and hurried towards her patient's room. Instead of following her cute airheaded partner, the agent simply stepped out of the moving room and took a few seconds to just… think.

IF couldn't help but stare at her happy partner go, musing about what just happened and secretly thankful for the entire ordeal getting delayed. A sigh of relief escaped her parted lips: "Oh well.. Next time it is, then." With a determined smirk and a straight back, the brunette followed Compa's trail, wasting no time to enter Emril's hospital room.

Despite still being pretty doubtful about the marked man, the agent couldn't say no to some good food and bad laughs. She wasn't alone, after all: being surrounded by loved ones and nice company was a thing anyone would ask for. And, even if the three still had their fair share of trouble and daily commute, they still had a fun evening to remember, which on its own was appreciable.

* * *

 **A/N: Apologies for the delay on this chapter, I was pretty busy rewriting the first two parts of this story so I only recently got to finishing this. By the way, I'm not forcing you, but you should check out the remasters for Prologue and Girl Of Importance, since I've spent a while polishing and basically redoing those two and I'd highly appreciate if you gave them a read.  
I'm tuning out for now, though. See you all when the next chapter goes up! :P**


	7. Chrono Trigger

**The next day…**

 _I glance around the lush green forest I find myself in. A nice place, I have to admit: the air is fresh, the sky above is completely cloudless, and the birds around me are gleefully exchanging songs and tunes with one another. Some leaves detach from tree branches and gracefully sway towards the ground, making a sort of "leaf carpet" on the dirt. One of, if not the best spot for someone to go on a picnic, or just to stroll around and take in the scenery._

 _As good as the idea sounds, though, I'm not really here to putter around. There's work for me here._

 _Back in the Guild, the task I decided to take up had a pretty low rating—it was given a solid E. And, really, it made sense: a little quest where all you have to do is kill a bunch of Dogoos and Meows is not getting any higher than an E, D at the very best. But what didn't really make sense was that the reward for a cakewalk like this was five Nep-Bulls, five thousand credits and a PSP Charger. That's just a steal._

 _But, as some people like to say, "strike while the iron's hot", so I went ahead and accepted the task. Now I just need to find those five Dogoos and Meows, and the goods are in the bag. I kind of wish they just came out right now, but not everything is that easy, I guess. Maybe the reward is for finding the monsters or something._

 _Seeing as that's the only thing I can do at the moment, I step deeper into the woods, taking another peek around myself just to avoid getting jumped. Instead of spooky scary monsters running my way, all I see are claw marks on a boulder to my right and a poster hanging on a tree to my left. Out of sheer curiosity, I decided to give it a read: maybe it was some sort of sale or massive event I could go on?_

 _The poster read:  
_ The unrestrainable shining idol 5pb. is touring around Gamindustri! Spreading her joyful voice to every listening ear now, the songbird's lively concerts feature physical copies of all her hits and albums, which will be sold during the show!  
Dates:  
19.09—Planeptune  
24.10—Lastation  
29.11—Lowee  
31.12—Leanbox  
Tickets are available at:  
.com  
.nep  
Don't miss it! __

 _Oh, right, 5pb. is supposed to perform soon. I'm still not too sure if I have the time and credits to go, but I hope I can. Her concerts are usually a ton of fun, so might as well._

 _After looking through the affiche, I decide to continue walking down the path leading deeper into the wildlands. I'm not sure why, but on a normal hunt I'd feel somewhat comfortable going through here: it is a pretty nice forest, all in all. This time, though, I can't help but feel a bit uneasy. Why is it so quiet? Where are those monsters? Where is everyone, for that matter? You'd definitely expect more people here, since the quest is really just free loot and Credits, but there's just… nobody. Not even a monster running around somewhere._

" _I don't like this," I mutter to myself, gripping the handle of my dagger as I push deeper into the woods. Maybe some people didn't hear about this quest being available? It would make sense… probably. The Guild has a pretty good way of informing its agents about available work, so I doubt they weren't notified. There is a possibility that most workers are busy with something else, like day-to-day stuff and whatnot, but this place is abnormally quiet. Like, I could probably hear an ant sneezing five meters away from me—that's how silent it is right now._

 _A rustling sound grabs my attention. I look at a bush not too far away from me, where the noise came from._

 _I think I may have company._

* * *

Away from the emerald seas of Virtua Forest and back in Planeptune Hospital, the marked man was already up and investing in Industri Keepers' book when he heard footsteps, growing louder as someone neared his room. At the point where Emril could determine the exact source of the sounds, he tore his gaze away from "Console Patron Unit Anatomy" and idly glanced at the entrance, curious to see if it was the friendly nurse coming his way. Which, to his relief, it was.

"Good morning, Em-Em! I hope you had a nice rest!" Compa said, excusing herself in with an innocent smile and seeing him mimic the same face she had, only in his case it was more of a friendly smirk. The patient nodded, before asking the peachette with a curious tone of voice: "Morning. Something here you need to pick up?" As Emril voiced his question, the man's expression morphed from a grin to a curious, inquisitive look in his eyes and slightly parted lips, which made him look like a little boy eager to find out where babies come from.

The candy-striper shook her head, approaching the seat where she had tended to the bearded man's wounds. "No, silly, I'm going to change your bandages!"

After his caretaker's reply, Emril set aside the anatomy encyclopedia and softly pushed himself up, sitting with a straight back. "Right, so this is one of those cases where you have to change the thing every single day?" He asked, keeping his eyes on Compa as she brought the same chair as before, placing it close enough to be able to tend to the patient's wounds, but also far enough to not make it weird. As the nurse sat down, she replied and started stripping away the red-stained cloth: "We can't risk your wound getting infected. Alrighty, now please hold still, this might sting…"

Not much was said in response, as Emril simply let out a "Mhm" and let Compa do her job as a nurse. Even if clumsy at times, the peachette surely knew what she was doing: little to no time has passed since she entered, and she was already rolling up the dressing that the man wore like it was nothing special. As the girl ridded Emril of his bandages and got closer to unveiling his stab wound, the patient's gaze was focused on the window, which made him look lost in thought. "...Say, Compa," he addressed the candy-striper, "there was a separate bit about negative energy in that CPU book I read yesterday, and that paragraph mentioned a certain "Deity Of Sin" taking over. Think you can tell me a bit more?"

The bearded nomad's question caught Compa's attention, and shortly after she began recalling the unfortunate past of Gamindustri. "Umm, well, there was a very mean Goddess, her name was the Deity Of Sin, and she wanted to destroy all of Gamindustri." The cute girl's voice took a sour tone, which made the man think of a nun blaming technology for all modern problems. Shoving aside the negative thought, Emril found himself rather surprised: "All of it, on her own? And how did the CPUs deal with that?"

"Oh, the CPUs were actually captured." The nurse's reply summoned a question mark above his head, the man narrowed his eyebrows and looked at Compa in slight terror: "You're kidding me. One evil Goddess taking on four? And capturing them? That's either a really strong deity, or four weak ones..." Even though Von Liris was already open-mouthed, the nurse wasn't done yet. "She even held them all captive for three years!" She added.

"Alright, okay, hold it for a moment…" Emril lifted his left arm, as if showing someone to stop. "All Goddesses were held captive for _three_ years." He went silent, gears in his brain turning as the man processed everything he was told so far. "And Neptune was one of them, too?"

"Uhuh," the girl nodded, "but Ge-Ge worked very hard, and with our help, she saved everyone! That's why Nep-Nep is… Auuuu…" With a sudden halt in movement and speech, the nurse frowned, having remembered the possible terrors her friends might be experiencing in a foreign dimension. Fortunately, Compa didn't have long to worry about the unknown, as the patient called out to her with a tilted head: "Compa..? What's wrong?"

"Oh, it's just… I'm just worried about Nep-Nep…" With an almost longing face she spoke, voice devoid of the happy and energetic tone it once had. Emril's eyes lit up—he had to confirm his lurking suspicion, be it ethical or not. "Wait… What about her?"

"She… She's gone missing…" Compa replied meekly.

"I knew it…" He muttered under his breath, with an obvious pinch of irritation in his voice and disappointment painted on his features. Even if the caretaker wasn't hiding any secrets from the man, Emril couldn't resist asking for more information. "Well… Anything you know about all this? Don't know, how to bring her back and whatnot?" Von Liris asked in a low, but comforting tone, though all he got was a downcast head wave. "She got teleported to a different dimension…" The candy-striper moved Von Liris' heart just by how she looked right now, but the traveler's main cause of concern was that he had probably just heard the worst news possible. Calmly, Emril placed his hand on her uneasy shoulder, covered with a sweater much softer and warmer than he first thought. Seriously, he understood that the peach-colored garment was going to be nice to the touch, but _how snug was that thing?!_

"Hey, come on, now, she'll get out in one piece," he started. "Everything's gonna be alright. If Neptune managed to endure three years of captivity from the Deity of Sin, then get out of that prison and beat her nemesis senseless, I'd say one dimension trip isn't even that big a problem." The nurse looked up at the male's face, gaze similar to that of a child free of punishment. "She's called a Goddess for a reason, right?" The last statement ended with an uplifting smile, which washed away most of Compa's doubts and brought a semi-bright grin to her face once again.

"Well… She is kind of known for going around random dimensions and dragging others into trouble… Hehe, that's our Nep-Nep." Slipping one of her precious beams Emril's way, the girl resumed her caretaking, with only a few moves left before the man's injury would see the light of day. A quick laugh, and Von Liris simply glanced away, his hand landing back onto the soft hospital bed. Slowly, but surely, his torso was ridded of the red-stained dressing, and as the final strip of bandages joined the roll…

"..Huh?" A noise of genuine confusion escaped the nurse's lips. There was no wound.

Only a scar.

* * *

 __

 _ROAR!_

 _A sudden growl hits my ears like a brick, but I still manage to evade the cold sharp claws aiming for my neck. Quickly, I step aside, and see as a feral beast misses its target and lands on its paws, roaring again as the creature's head snaps towards me. Its fangs lay bare on the sun, its bloody red eyes lock onto me, its dark blue fur rises up as the wolf-like monster growls deeply…_

 _A Fenrir almost caught me off-guard, it seems like._

 _Both daggers zap out of their sheathes, and, one quick blinding flash later, a long flaming Tachi is in my hands._ _The giant wolf pounces towards me again, too eager to rip me into pieces._

 _With a twirl, I step to my left, and my blade slashes down, its fiery trail making the air around us both warm and almost stuffy. The impact is felt in the Tachi's handle, through the monster doesn't cry out or growl or anything. It simply crashes into the ground like a plane, tumbling a good few meters before laying still. The Fenrir's head topples down next to its lifeless carcass._

 _I catch my breath, looking at the beast I had just murdered. Blue fur, huge fangs and claws, snout of a dog—that's a Fenrir, all right._

 _What is it doing on an E-ranked quest? Don't these guys usually start appearing somewhere around D or C? I can understand random monsters roaming around while I look for things to kill for my work, but Fenrirs, for Goddess sake?_

 _My inner rant is interrupted by a light engulfing the killed wolf, and as the glow fully consumes its body, the monster disappears, only leaving behind a claw for me to collect. I pick it up._

Found items:  
x1 Behemoth Claws __

 _Well, at least I got another one of these things. That's something positive about almost getting devoured by a giant wolf in the middle of the woods, right?_

 _I grunt, hiding the talon into the pocket of my black jacket. Maybe I can sell it later, an extra grand of Credits is never a bad thing. It's not like I really need a new sword or anything, though… I'll see how I'm doing with resources when I'm back after the quest. I might have enough to craft a weapon and sell it for more._

 _But… I was told at the Guild that, if the quest is harder than it was told, or if it has monsters with a level higher than told in the task overview,—which it does, I just killed one—I should bail. There's been a pretty good bunch of reports going around where Guild workers were found either torn to shreds, or bludgeoned to death, or some other bad thing monsters can usually do to you. I mean, I haven't found a Dogoo or a Meow yet and I already got jumped by a Fenrir, maybe I really should go?.. I can earn a pretty bunch of Credits as compensation from the Guild once I'm back, but damn it, I need that PSP Charger!_

Boing! __

 _My head snaps up. Did I just hear something?_

Boing! Boing! __

 _I see a little blue blob with a dog face in the distance, bouncing around carelessly. Oh, I definitely heard something—a Dogoo, no less. Just as I was wondering where these guys disappeared to._

 _And now I'm really starting to wonder. I turn around and leave—I still get a pretty nice chunk of Credits, but I don't get that Charger, which is something I really really need; I keep going—I get both the money and the PSP Charger, but I have a pretty decent risk of dying. So, either I play it safe and lose the perfect chance to get a wanted item, or I play it dangerously and risk myself getting killed via monster horde. Hmm..._

" _Doooogoooooo!"_

 _..I guess that answers my question._

* * *

"What is it, Compa?.." Worrying half-heartedly, Emril found himself peeking at the confused candy-striper, who was currently running thought after thought in her mind, trying her hardest to somehow find a good explanation as to why the man's fresh , rather severe injury was now gone off the face of his torso, only leaving behind a little scar. "I didn't get gangrene or something, right?"

"The wound, it's…" She uttered out, teasingly slowly tearing her eyes away from this abnormality that stood before the peachette. After some time, Compa's stare landed on the patient, any confidence and pride in her voice gone with the wind. This girl, this well-coordinated nurse with years of experience on record—rendered to nothing but a poor clueless soul. "It's gone… How is this possible?"

"Err…" Emril inhaled and looked away, gritting his teeth and awkwardly scratching at his chin.

' _I didn't think this through_ ', the man thought, ' _I really didn't think this through properly… What am I gonna say now? She's definitely not gonna shrug it off- I mean, her patient—someone this girl's gotta treat and heal—arrived yesterday with a new stab wound, and then the next day it's completely gone! It's bound to raise a question or a few…_ '

The man sighed, and turned back to Compa, addressing the puzzled caretaker with a voice both guilty and awkward. "Yeah, about that… I may or may not have gotten up yesterday to snatch a potion from my bag." The peachette furrowed her eyebrows.

"Aww, Em-Em!" She began her little round of scolding, addressing the deviant Emril and giving him a disappointed glare; Even though the man knew he was in for a lecture, he was more concerned about Compa making an expression that wasn't either lethally adorable, or lethally heartbreaking. "I told you to stay in bed while I was away! What if you fell down and couldn't get up without me?"

"Compa," he replied bluntly, finger-counting the calamities he'd gone through. "I had my palm stabbed through, I survived a barrage of sharp shrapnel-like rocks, fell down a rather big hill, got smacked over the head with a mace, and accidentally launched myself at a brick wall one time. Pretty sure I'd handle my own just fine." Emril finished, showing himself to be oddly positive, which couldn't be said about the girl, who looked like she had just pictured all of the injuries in her head; Needless to say, her features were clearly showing concern and a pinch of discontent.

"I don't know if that makes me feel better..." Compa replied with a small, but powerful frown as she eyed his nonexistent stab wound, the stained bandages which covered it yesterday now in a neat little cylinder, its snow white color and texture ruined by stains of red, especially visible in the middle of the roll. The girl's downcast stare was torn from the dressing as Emril pat her on the shoulder again.

"Hey, what's supposed to make you feel better is that the wound is completely gone, and so is that shoulder cut." Judging by the slight glint of relief in the girl's peach-colored eyes, there was progress in cheering her up. "No need to worry about me so much, Compa. Worrying is bad for your health, you know." To his dismay, the girl replied with another pout, and the little progress he had in making the peachette smile was completely gone.

"It's my job as a nurse to worry about others…"

"No, your job is to tend to other people's injuries, not burning yourself to warm others." Emril pointed a finger at the nurse, raising his eyebrows and speaking matter-of-factly. "Being too stressed can make people really irritable, also ups your risk of catching a cold. And, don't quote me on this, but I really, _really_ doubt that a girl like yourself would either want to be mad at everything, or spend most of her work days filling herself with tea and walking around with a tissue box all time. Or am I wrong?" A provoking grin accompanied the man's last statement, and Compa took his attempt at cheering her up as a challenge.

"Well… No," Quickly clearing her throat, the nurse straightened herself, her expression took on a more determined and competitive form and showed a proud grin coupled with lowered eyebrows, "but stress is also a vital warning system! Your brain floods your body with epinephrine, norepinephrine and cortisol when you feel stressed, which increases your blood pressure and makes you super focused! It can also boost your memory!"

Emril blinked. Then he blinked again.

Did he just get outsmarted?

"Em-Em..?" Compa looked up at the man's flabbergasted face, like this girl had just told him she hid the bodies of her victims in the basement. Blankly staring back at the candy-striper, the marked man spent a good few seconds in silence, presumably thinking about what in the blazes a "norepinephrine" is. Eventually, Emril's stupefied expression morphed into one of the most awkward grins he had ever worn, tearing his aqua blue irises away from the girl's peach-colored ones.

"...Riiiight. Remind me to never provoke you again."

"Ehehe, I finally managed to tell someone about it~" Voice dripping with content, Compa followed her pleased statement with an innocent smile. Even though successful in lifting the peachette's spirit, the traveler found a question mark roaming his curious noggin. "Hold up, so you don't tell this sort of thing to Iffy?"

"Well," Now it was her turn to flash an awkward smile, "Iffy seems really busy collecting info and working at the Guild, so she barely pays attention to what I tell her…" Though the nurse's voice lacked even a hint of sadness or displeasure, Emril couldn't help but feel bad for the girl. 'So much for love, huh…' A thought popped into his mind.

"I see... Anyway, my wound's gone, that mean I can go now?" The patient finally voiced his question, unable to hold back the honest excitement of ultimately leaving the hospital and beginning to explore Planeptune again. His gaze focused on the charming nurse, who was currently narrowing her eyes at the scar on his side and holding a finger at her chin.

"Hmmm… Well, you seem to be really healthy, so I don't think there's a reason for you to stay here." Having reached a conclusion, Emril noticed a little sparkle in Compa's eyes as she reached for her Handy-Dandy Nurse's Pouch™, and pulled out a pink smartphone. "Now I can join Iffy!"

"Join her?" Von Liris asked curiously, landing his feet on the floor and standing up from the cold hospital bed. Grunting as he arched his back, like after a good nap, he dropped another question: "You girls… Doin' something?"

"Yep, we usually do some quests for the Guild where Iffy works!" Compa wasted no time to respond as she put away her phone, standing up and carrying the chair back to where she got it, waddling cutely in the meantime. Once she reached her destination and put the chair down, the caretaker wiped the metaphorical sweat off her forehead with a resounding "Phew!", and turned back to Von Liris, who had just sighed in relief and slumped his shoulders down. "It's early, so I'm sure we can still catch up to her before accepting any."

"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Emril crooked an eyebrow at the nurse, speaking in an uncertain tone. "My guess, she's already causing mass monster genocide out in the woods somewhere." It was then that a rather mischievous giggle was heard from her, and the man noticed Compa approaching him, as if to share something classified.

"Iffy may be really cool, but she tends to sleep like a little baby," The candy-striper murmured gently in the man's ear, earning her another, much cheekier grin.

Emril winked at Compa.

"Oh, I'll take your secret to the grave."

…

"Wait, did you say "we"?"

* * *

 _A somewhat noisy "Dogooooooooooo!" is what accompanies my finishing swing at the last blue glob of jelly; I guess that was supposed to be a dramatic "Nooooooooo!" in Dogoo language. With the final slash of my burning Tachi, bits of goo splatter next to me sporadically, and the last dog-faced blob meets its demise._

 _I cross "Dogoo" off my to-do list for the quest, which only leaves me with the Meows. Finally, some decent progress… I was starting to wonder that these things simply won't show up, and that the whole shindig of the quest was something completely different. Dunno, maybe the Guild got some bad intel about the task, or someone wasn't careful with it._

 _Eh._

 _Point is, the Dogoos are dead, and now I just need to find the other monsters. Hunting was never this exhausting, honestly._

 _Usually, it's just a quick run through the place, few swings here and there, a potion if something goes sour, and then it's back to the city. Nothing inconvenient or anything of the sort. For an E-rank, this is turning into a chore..._

 _Maybe today's just my bad day, and on my way back I'm gonna end up tripping over a branch or a tree root that's sticking out of the ground. Or the Guild workers aren't gonna give me my compensation for nearly getting screwed by that Fenrir._

 _Right, okay, I shouldn't get sidetracked now. Five Meows, and then I sing the "Nep this crap, I'm out" song and book it for Planeptune._

 _I make absolute sure that I don't step on the melted leftovers of Dogoo as I progress even deeper into the forest, shutting my eyes for a second to let my two-handed blade morph back into two decently-sized daggers. Both go back into their sheathes, which rest on my lower back, and my attention jumps back to the woods._

 _I can't lie… Even though there's nobody around, I just feel like there's someone or something nearby, staring me down… Something is going on here._

 _Noticeably more on edge than before, one of my knives ends up in my grip as I slowly step forward, softening my pace so that I hear everything. Still as silent as before… But there's_ something _wrong, I can sense it._

" _H-Hellooooo?" I call out hesitantly, glancing around the forest._

 _Bad idea._

 _There's a noise to my left. I quickly snap my head towards there, blades already in a reverse grip, en garde. The sounds grow closer as a beast of some kind, shape and form nears me, in search for the best opportunity to strike me down. My gaze hardens, as behind a tree emerges…_

 _A Meow! Hell yeah, just as I was getting paranoid. Where were you, little guy?_

 _My weapons catch a vibrant blue color as electricity imbues the cutting edges. I take a few seconds to prepare myself, only to find out that there's more than a single brown cat pitter-pattering on two little feet to deal with. Moments later, what stands before me is four more Meows—very nice—two Saint Whales, three Fenrirs, and a few tiny ones like Tulips, Delinquent Cats, Cubicles and Grey wolves._

 _I glance at the pile of enemies in silence, uttering one single line before all hell broke loose._

" _...Oh, give me a break."_

* * *

"Yep, we!"

The voice of a happy girl called out before ultimately drowning in a sea of chatter that flooded the streets of Planeptune, addressing the tall marked man who was being dragged behind by a small, but surprisingly strong peach-haired nurse. The nomad turned around, trying to catch a glimpse of the distance the two had gained from the polyclinic. "That was… quite the dramatic pause." Emril glanced back at his companion, expecting some sort of reaction or answer to the half-hearted quip. To his dismay, no response was heard, as Compa kept tugging on his arm to follow her. With a mental shrug, Von Liris obliged in silence, only able to look around.

Not much was different from when the man had taken his stroll in search of a café: the two were most likely retracing his steps. Having remembered about what had occurred yesterday, a little question mark popped into Emril's mind as he started peeking around at a more active pace. Hair Snepper, Neptune's Pudding Stash, Neppu Mia!, Neppuccino-

' _Oh, Yvmus be my witness, this place is messed up.'_

Truly, the coffeehouse has seen better days. Its glass door was now sealed off, with what seemed to be the establishment's barista standing a few meters away from the entrance, drying his teary red eyes with a soaked handkerchief. Inside were a few women dressed in navy blue uniforms, presumably the megapolis' law enforcement team, investigating the area. ' _Ah yeah, that thing I did with those two guys… Oops._ ' He awkwardly scratched his beard, the man's face cringing slightly at the wreck inside Neppuccino.

It seemed a lot worse than he had remembered: one of the tables he had flipped wore a solid black line going through the middle—' _Cracked…_ '—the wall above the bench Compa had sat on showed an apparent dent, most of the sugar and cinnamon dispensers were shattered and only left a handful of coffee flavor powder and bits of sharp glass, and one of the policewomen noticeably winced at something on the floor.

Did he really leave such a big mess in there?

Unable to help his murderous curiosity, Emril tapped the peachette on the shoulder, and she turned around soon after. "Hope you don't mind if I take a little peek, I'm curious if those thirsty debauchees are still there." As Von Liris received an "Okay!" and a quick nod in response, the man quickly turned towards one of the two big window panes that overlooked different streets, and glanced through the glass.

His answer would be a solid "no": the two guys were most likely taken to the hospital soon after the incident. However, one of them had left a decently sized blood puddle, supposedly that dude whose head Emril had bashed against the counter. The same mini pool of red was apparently what caused a reaction from one of the officers; "Probably squeamish," Emril muttered under his breath, before raising an eyebrow at the thought. "Though, if she really is, why become a police officer?.."

With a quick shrug and all the answers he wanted, Von Liris turned away from the window, and his gaze was immediately captured by the sight of Compa looking his way. But, something was different: judging by the girl's silence and her unnerved mug, one would most likely say that she had just realized that everyone was going to die at some point, or that "the end" really was near. Even if it wasn't anything completely bizarre or out of the ordinary, the sight of her perturbed face was enough to seem ever so slightly foreboding.

"Compa?" Emril stepped closer and leaned down near the nurse, as if to bring his face on the same level as hers. "You're looking a bit under the weather. Everything alright?"

Having snapped out of her thinking space, the peachette waved her head and spread a smile across her lovely features, showing a thumbs-up gesture as to confirm her reply. "Huh? Yeah, I'm fine!" Compa replied cheerfully.

Narrowing his eyes at the caretaker, as if mockingly skeptical, the marked man straightened himself, and glanced towards where they were initially heading: "Alright, if you say so… So, where were we?" The duo began walking again, joining the crowd like two water streams merging into one. "We wanted to catch up with Iffy and do something with her, right?"

"Yep!" Compa nodded, pulling out her smartphone and tapping a few times on its screen. "I already texted Iffy that we're coming, she'll be waiting for us in the Guild lobby. We're gonna do some quests together!" It was hard not to notice the pinch of excitement in the girl's voice, and not exactly easy to miss the glint in her eyes; Apparently, the thought alone of working with the Guild agent lifted her spirits.

Still, though, there was a lingering thought in Emril's head, or two. The nurse looked more anxious after her eyes landed on the café window, and she's been noticeably less… vibrant—for the lack of a better word—than earlier. Even if the man chose not to press for more info, he had a feeling that something wasn't quite right.

Was she thinking about the attack? Probably. Wondering about the two guys that hit her? Most likely. Maybe she was just scared of the place now..? That would make sense, but it's not like she was all by herself: even if you removed Emril from the equation, the police were still in the area. And even with that aside, the two wannabe rapists were going to spend a good few months in the hospital, before ultimately ending up in jail for assault.

' _...Argh, Compa is definitely blaming herself for the entire situation, isn't she? The barista's constant sniffling and wails of sorrow aren't helping at all, if that's the case. But, then again, there's nothing she can blame herself for, since mostly it was the thirsty creeps that started this. But man, were they desperate… It's like they were trying to kill someone, and not just plowing an innocent girl that just so happened to look nice. Honestly didn't expect it to get as far as to have them pull out a knife on me, usually guys like them back down the moment things go south… But meh, none of that matters now, does it? I can't just press Compa to tell me what's wrong, she's had her fair share of trouble, but I really wish I could: seeing the usually merry nurse like her worrying about something and not knowing how to handle it is… not nice. Well, it's not "not knowing", I just need to take my time with it. Anyway, where were we?...'_

"Done daydreaming?"

"Huh?" Emril abruptly shook his head and blinked as a sharp voice pierced his ears, which was _definitely_ not Compa's. Quickly getting hold of his surroundings—in particular, the two people in front of him—the man was presented with his nurse companion, who was standing cutely with her hands folded, and with a familiar brunette in an oversized blue coat. "Oh, hey Iffy."

"Someone's out early…" The addressed girl pressed a hand against her hip, shifting her weight and cracking a friendly smirk at the tall man. "And it's still IF for you."

"Alright, alright…" Von Liris put his hands up defensively, tearing his gaze away from Iffy as the peachette nurse took the lead in their conversation.

"Oh! You won't believe it, Iffy," Compa spoke in her cheery voice, which IF could recognize as the tone she uses while telling her patients really good news, "Em-Em is fully recovered!"

"W-Wait, _fully_ recovered? From a _stab wound?_ " The brunette's eyebrows narrowed as she looked back and forth between her childhood friend and the marked traveler., putting an emphasis on her words as if to fully highlight the strangeness of his medical condition. "In less than a _day?!_ " IF raised her eyebrows at the last statement as she fixed her gaze on Compa, clearly showing confusion.

"Mhm!" She only nodded in response. "I was surprised too when I first saw it!" The candy-striper turned to face the agent, as if letting her friend in on a fun fact: "Apparently potions from where Em-Em comes from are super good!"

With Iffy's gobsmacked mug frozen in place, her head turned towards Emril at a comically slow pace, and the man only replied with a quick shrug, as if to say "That's the way it is". Compa looked at their mute exchange from the side, like she was watching an old black-and-white movie. After a few long seconds of pure silence, the brown-haired girl turned to face the door, which presumably led to the Guild. "Alright, let's go, we're already late..."

Like a cowboy in a Western movie, the brunette pushed both glass doors open, allowing the trio to enter a long broad hallway, covered head to toe in a bright yellow lustre, which emanated from the many lights inside. Three shining lines on the roof—one long vertical line, and two short horizontal ones—formed two plus shapes, meanwhile the white floor showed glowing arrows that pointed at the rather intimidating amount of terminals, each one separated from the other with a little wall. Above each mini barrier sat a square lamp, and the upper part of the wall was displaying a black screen-like surface, with green lines of data drifting through them at a soothing pace. In the middle of the large area were two rows of different benches: the line to the left showed stone grey seats and a big pillar of glass with plants and flowers within, and the right had double-sided benches with a white frame and yellow seats.

Before either of the girls could get a word in, a loud, impressed whistle filled the air, as Emril gazed around the Guild's interior with widened eyes. "Whew… Sure is a nice place to see before certain death," his voice dripped with sarcasm, but that didn't save the man from the daggers IF glared at him, or the displeased looks on Compa's face. "...Hey, it really is certain death for some people, you know," he followed up with an uncomfortable shrug, which made the two turn toward one of the numerous terminals, with the brunette shaking her head and the peachette slipping in an awkward laugh.

"Come over here, you two," Iffy ordered as soon as her agitated mug dissipated, guiding her companions to one of the monitors that stood against the wall. To the man's surprise, there hasn't been many quests displayed at all—only one E-ranked task was seen on the terminal.

"I'll assume that's the rank…" Emril muttered and leaned down, narrowing his eyes as he quietly read the task overview. "E-rank, IF? I thought you were an S-rank kind of person…" Von Liris flashed Iffy a cheeky smirk, which earned him an elbow to the side.

"Read the details, Em, and don't underestimate a job just because of its rank…" Almost feeling offended, the experienced girl addressed the foreigner with an obvious hint of annoyance in her voice, before focusing her attention on three items seen in the "Quest Rewards" section: 5000 Credits, five Nep-Bulls, and a PSP Charger.

After a few seconds of silence as the group quietly read the quest info, Emril's eyebrows slowly drew together, shifting his look of curiosity into that of confusion. "...Well, isn't that just a dreadful mess of everything. I mean, five energy drinks, a console charger or something and five thousand Credits? What is that?"

Compa took the liberty of explaining the set of names her former patient mentioned: "Ooh, that's super good! A Nep-Bull is a drink that Planeptune specializes in, it's like an energy drink that also has healing purposes. A PSP Charger regenerates your SPs, it's the thingy you need to use any special skills! And five thousand Credits is just the currency we have, hehe~"

"So," Von Liris lifted his Trusty All-Purpose Finger Counter™, "five heals, one mana regen, and five grand… That a lot around here?" With three of his fingers open and his hand still lifted, the man glanced curiously at the brunette.

"Enough to stay in a nice hotel with some decent food."

"Ooh, well in that case," the marked man cracked his knuckles with an intrigued grin, "you got my attention, ladies."

"I knew you'd like it," IF's inquisitive set of features quickly turned into a professional and determined smirk. "Well then, we're taking it!"

* * *

 _I should've bailed._

 _I should've freaking bailed._

 _Went here because I thought I was gonna grab some easy loot and finally get something I need. What I got was a pile of other, much stronger monsters trying to kick my ass, and next to no enemies I actually need for my quest._

 _Guild, I love you, but I hate you._

 _I grip my katana harder, the cold air around its blade stinging my arm as I stare down the two remaining Meows, which are—thankfully—bold enough not to run away after seeing their kitty friends chopped into bits. I think I just heard something behind me, but I don't care, I just want these things done and dealt with even if I hate killing cats._

 _And I don't care if there's a Saint Whale right behind me!_

 _One of the two Meows makes the first move, and immediately regrets it: the thing slashes at me with its claws, and I retaliate near instantly with a parry and an upward strike, sending the Meow flying which allows me to efficiently end it off with a wakizashi stab. My short blade still mounted into the cat monster, I step to the right and quickly turn around, which results in my katana lacerating the last Meow standing. Both cats fall to the ground as my gaze fixates on the Saint Whale, which was already flying at me._

 _C'mon, piece of filth, it's just you left and then I can go home!_

 _My Daisho catches a bright light, turning into two daggers engulfed in lightning. A short raucous crackling fills the area, like a lightning just struck one of the many trees nearby, as I zap forward and through the whale monster, landing a roll as my feet hit the dirt. The beast cries out as it gets electrocuted, and there I see another opening: my Tantos begin glimmering furiously in the sunlight, gashing the Saint Whale's side again and again as I make absolute sure this thing stays down. After a long flurry of attacks, I hop back and tighten my grip on the stained daggers, exhaling sharply as I stare down the furious whale. As it charges at me again, I shift to my Tachi and greet the bloodthirsty Saint Whale with a blade in between the eyes._

 _As the last monster standing (or, well, floating in this case) basically kills itself, I yank the blade upward, only to remember that no monsters bleed around here. In a few seconds, the edge of my blade smacks the ground as I adjust the weapon's position, leaning on it like on a cane. My eyes scan the miniature battleground._

 _There… I finally did it. I finally finished an E-ranked quest, and I only had to kill like, what, four Fenrirs and two Saint Whales? Lady Purple Heart have mercy, if I knew this was coming, I'd take a day off. Dunno, take a nap, or go for a walk. Something that doesn't involve almost getting wrecked by a mob of high-level monsters!_

 _Well, at least I can finally ditch this place and go get my reward. After that, it's probably a Nep Bull or three, and I can do whatever I want. Hooraaaay…_

 _I stumble a bit, tired after all the fighting and killing I just did, before starting to walk away. The longsword morphs back into two small knives, which are put in their sheathes. Grass and branches crack under my feet as I wobble towards the city borders, playing the bit where I get the rewards for the quest in my mind. That was… probably the worst hunt I've had yet: not only did I get beat up, I also had to tire myself immensely for a Goddess-damn E-rank._

 _Though, I guess that's nothing a few Nep-Bulls can't fi—_

 _The ground quakes underneath me. I snap out of my inner monologue and look around._

 _Don't tell me something's gonna come out of the ground now. Don't you_ dare. __

 _Little pebbles bounce against the ground slightly as the shaking grows stronger, like an actual earthquake is currently hitting Virtua Forest for probably the first time in forever. My walking comes to a halt, but another part of me wants to bolt it out of there like crazy. The quakes continue intensifying, and I really start thinking that it's just a tremor._

 _Boy, was I wrong._

 _In the distance, I spot a few silhouettes. Not human silhouettes, either. Slowly treading backwards now, my gaze hardens as I stare into the fattening figure, which later turns out to be several. I start fearing for the worst, that it may be some sort of ancient dragon coming to finish me off and have me for breakfast. Or maybe, it was something el—_

 _My eyebrows furrow as I finally realize what the growing shapes are._

 _It's a horde. A horde I simply won't be able to outrun, even._

" _Oh, can you_ _ **fuck off?!**_ " __

 _I quickly dart my head left and right, only to realize that there's not a single human soul around, and I'm all by myself here. So, I guess running away isn't an option: don't want Planeptune to get attacked by that myriad. Speaking of which, the monster swarm is gigantic, and I mean_ gigantic. __

 _Seeing that there's literally nothing else I can do, I slip in a groan, and focus my attention on the pack in front of me. It grew closer, and closer, like a bullet slowly nearing my head. I steady my breath._

" _Focus, focus, focus…"_

 _I raise my arms. Moments later, a pair of claps swarm the air atop the emerald green oceans._

 _As they do, the world comes to a pause, the hands of a clock stopping dead._

 _The pack of fiends before me now stood frozen, still, like statues in a museum or taxidermy workshop. Their feral gazes are blank, almost expressionless. Fluttering leaves now hover in the air, motionless, and so did the little pebbles stop jumping after each quake._

 _Everything was motionless now… Except me._

 _I sigh, wiping the sweat off my forehead, which freezes nearly instantly after it leaves my face. I wasn't expecting that to happen, truth be told…_

 _With hands on my hips, I lower my head, and peek at the stationary myriad with a raised eyebrow._

" _Now what do I do with you…?"_

* * *

"Elbow!" Compa chirped with a smile, walking alongside her two friends in the woods, on their way to the one and only Virtua Forest—one of the most popular areas for monster hunting.

It wasn't just some random comment the nurse had thrown in out of nowhere, no; Out of sheer boredom of simply trudging along the path surrounded by green, she found herself, along with Emril and IF, playing the best time killer they could think of: the last letter in Compa's word was the first letter for her tall companion's word, and his last one—the first for Iffy.

Following the rules of their game, Emril folded his arms and stared in the distance, scratching his beard in thought. "Mmm.. Wire."

Now it was IF's turn to speak: "Emerald."

"Dinner."

"Radiation."

"Novel."

"Love~!" Somehow, the peachette's voice turned even brighter, catching a glimpse of her childhood friend just in time, before IF could turn into the blushing and stuttering mess both Compa and Emril were familiar with. Recoiling slightly, the brunette's head turned towards the nurse.

"W-Why that, of all words?!" She sputtered, the color on her face growing more apparent with each passing second. The agent's voice went from the aware and undisturbed tone she had always used to a more squeaky and shy pitch.

"Heheh, it's just the first word that came to my mind," Now it was Compa's turn to blush, their gazes meeting as the group continued treading on the broad trampled pathway. After the girls maintained their strong eye contact for a few seconds, which felt more like a few minutes, Iffy cleared her throat quietly before averting her green irises, to instead scan whatever it was ahead of them.

Even though the moment was over, Emril still found himself wondering. Having confirmed another one of his lingering suspicions—one simple four-letter word was more than enough to send IF into a state of meekness and stuttering—the man peeked back and forth between the two girls. ' _Honestly,_ ' Von Liris pondered, ' _Ask each other out already… Seriously behaving like a couple at this point._ '

At one point during his observation, there was a noticeable mood shift from the Guild agent, altering once again from a lovestruck teenager to her usual sharp demeanor. The foreigner followed her trail of sight, only to spot a poster hanging on one of the trees, which, at first glance, looked to be some kind of advertisement. Even though Iffy's attention was peaked by something else, something that made her hum quietly with narrowed eyes, the man would check on that later; Right now, he was interested in what that poster was.

Glancing over the pamphlet, Emril began reading its contents, murmuring the words under his breath: "..Shining idol… Lively concerts… Dates, tickets… Huh." Adopting a louder tone of voice, Von Liris peeked at his female partners, with a slightly raised brow as he caught a glance of the two kneeling near a boulder. "So not only do you have "Nep" in every establishment around here, you also have a musician called 5pb.?"

To his slight surprise, neither of them shared the same enthusiasm as he did, but instead looked tense, worried, like they had just found a human skull. After a few seconds of quiet, only interrupted by the girls muttering something, IF raised her right hand, moving two of her fingers as if to gesture Emril to come closer. As he did, the man's eyes instantly landed on three deep lines carved on the side of a rock—beast claws.

"See these marks?" The agent quickly peeked at the fellow brunet, who only nodded in response. Iffy continued: "They're bigger than the marks a normal Fenrir would leave… And why would a beast just attack a boulder out of nowhere?.." With a noticeably more troubled expression, she briefly looked left and right, seemingly hoping to find an explanation somewhere around the lonely walkway. "This is weird…"

"So, what, is this "warm-up" trip gonna turn into a mess?" Emril's eyes jumped from the gashed stone to IF's uneasy mug, arms crossed on his chest. The girl stood back up, and cast a distant glare down the path they stood on.

"I don't know," She said, "But I'd prepare myself if I were you. Something big is up ahead."


	8. A Hunt of Surprises

"Hellooooooo? Mr. Dogoo, where are youuuu? Come ouuuuut!" Compa's overly innocent voice reverberated through the seemingly barren woods, the girl's hands busy with a gigantic syringe filled with a pink substance, presumably a paralyzing agent or some bizarre poison. Emril curved an eyebrow at the peachette's callout.

"Compa, I doubt that even a demon king would wanna come out when you're carrying that thing," He added, glancing at the cute nurse and at the terrifyingly huge needle in her hands. "Seriously, if that's what you use to kill things, did I even need to help you out in Neppuccino? You could've just whipped that thing out and those two guys would scram."

A little sweat drop crawled down her cheek: "Oh, well, I kinda forgot it while rushing out of the hospital…" Before a thought akin to 'How can you forget something so big?!' began plaguing his mind, the candy-striper continued. "The Disk where I keep my syringe is pretty small, so…"

It was then that their dialogue was interrupted by a tongue click from their diligent friend. "I swear, we've been walking for ten minutes straight, and still haven't found anything… Where is everyone?" Moments after the oddly intriguing question had been issued, Emril and Compa caught wind of Iffy glancing at them, her emerald eyes alarmed and uneasy. "Even if you put the lack of monsters aside, you'd at least expect this place to be swarming with hunters or other Guild agents…"

Upon her comment reaching the duo's ears, both the foreign man and the clumsy caretaker gazed left and right, confirming the brunette's suspicion and understanding why she was frustrated. IF wasn't lying or overexaggerating in the slightest: what surrounded the group was a shallow and empty sea of green, stretching to what seemed to be infinity. Not a human soul in sight, not a roar or screech of any beasts—only the fluttering leaves and a soft breeze, the quietude of the forest only interrupted by the trio itself.

"Mmm… Iffy's right," Compa frowned slightly, managing to hold onto her needle with one arm as she placed a finger at her chin. "It's usually really lively around here…"

"Wait, so ten minutes in a forest without getting attacked is a cause of concern?" The two girls suddenly turned to face their male companion, who they seemingly forgot had woken up in Gamindustri just yesterday. "I thought we were out hunting. Shouldn't we look for animal tracks and find them that way?"

"That's not really how it works," IF explained. "You can see monsters running around not long after arriving, especially around here. But right now, it's about as lively as a desert."

"Maybe it's because all the inhabitants are dead." Emril raised an eyebrow, flashing a slightly scoffing look at the agent with crossed arms. "If you've been killing here for so long, it's no wonder we can't find anything right now."

"You don't know how spawning works, do you?"

"Oh, so they respawn?" Even without a definite answer, Iffy understood that she was wrong in her assumption. The man's eyes slightly wider than usual, he averted his gaze back to their pathway. "That makes the most sense here, then… Any monsters in particular I should look out for?" He asked. "Your fauna is most likely different from what I had, so better be prepared."

"For starters," IF began, with a hand on her hip, "big monsters like Fenrirs or Dolphins are an obvious threat. You shouldn't ever underestimate them, no matter how strong you are. For smaller enemies, I think you should watch out for big groups. Grey Wolves and Delinquent Cats aren't dangerous on their own, but they're a big threat in hordes. I suggest you give a pack of Dogoos—blue slimes with dog faces—the first go. But be careful with them, too: you would be surprised by how many agents they traumatized..."

"What kind of trauma are we talking about?.." Slightly off-put after the brunette's explanation, Emril crooked an eyebrow, his arms still bent into a thinking pose. "There's a lot of different ways that slimy blobs can damage someone."

"Mostly," both the agent and the foreigner darted their gazes towards the trio's medic, spectating as a sad frown spread over Compa's mug, "it's the kind where victims quit their jobs… And avoid any sort of reminder or even talking about monsters…" The nurse sighed remorsefully after speaking. After a few seconds, a silent, but visible realization was seen from the marked foreigner: his lips pursed and eyes narrowed, Emril stared away into the everlasting wilderness. ' _Of course… She works in the medical industry, after all. Doctors do have to tell bad news to their patients.'_

The man blinked a few times, quietly clearing his throat. "So, basically keep my guard up all the time, no matter the monster. Got it." Emril's conclusion lacked any means of sarcasm or joking, which drew a little smirk on Iffy's face.

"At least someone listens, huh?" She turned towards her bright, peach-haired friend, who responded with a nod and cracked a proud smile, breaking out of her bummed state and focusing back on the deserted forest. IF spoke again, turning back to face the same way: "Okay, let's keep go-!?"

Only, the brunette's statement was interrupted, and replaced with a surprised "Woah?!" as the ground beneath their feet started shaking. The sudden tremor was enough to disturb the lingering hush, and to leave the group darting their heads left and right, hoping to find whatever was creating the vibration.

"W-Wha-hat's happening?!" Compa's distressed voice rang out, the girl holding onto her gigantic needle and trying not to fall down. "W-W-Why is the ground sha-a-king?!"

"A-An earthquake, must be!" IF poured her attention into staying balanced on her feet, secretly hoping that the quakes would subside as soon as possible. Which is why, when they only grew in power and ferocity, a suspicious expression overtook her face. "Wait a minute…" She muttered, her ears suddenly catching a low rumbling noise, like a stream of horses was pouring out of a stable.

But here, upon laying her eyes on the sound's creator, Iffy wished it really was just a few stallions galloping through the forest.

"Ah, crap…"

"What, see something?" With a raised voice, Emril responded to the agent's callout with his own, soon tearing away his eyes from the panicking girls to check whatever made IF slip in such a displeased comment. A few brief moments later, the man's eyes froze in place, his features displaying sheer terror at the oncoming threat.

Or rather, an entire myriad of oncoming threats.

"...Girls, I think we should go," the man quickly ordered, his voice dripping with urgency and worry.

" _You don't say!_ " The brunette cried out, firmly grasping Compa's arm and dragging the nurse after her as she picked up her pace. In no time, the trio broke into a sprint, carelessly crashing branches and grass beneath their feet in desperate attempts to outrun the monster horde.

All that was in the group's sight was the long path before them. Each step could either spell their demise, or widen their range from an unspeakable ending, and so they poured all their attention into safely getting away from the swarm, adrenaline and fear in tow. Branches hung from trees, low enough to be an obstacle, and leaves slowly rained down, but the escaping team didn't give it much thought.

The ground was vibrating stronger with each second.

The horde was closing in.

No matter how long or how fast they ran, Compa's unwavering desire to stop and take a breather wouldn't leave the poor girl. Her hard breaths gasping for air did naught but strengthen the current of panicking thoughts flooding IF's mind, draining the agent's ability to stay calm. Afraid, she wouldn't stop thinking that these absolutely terrifying moments of their life may as well be their last. Glancing back, Emril secretly prayed for the girls' safety, prayed that they wouldn't either stop or trip over.

Which is why, in one fell swoop, the man's fears grew tenfold.

"AAH!" Screamed the young nurse, her foot jamming violently into one of the countless tree roots sticking out from the ground. Quickly, the girl's vision turned blurry, a sprained sensation gripping her foot as her body neared the ground. Before she could react, another, much more painful feeling rode the healer's right shoulder. As Compa's vision cleared, she found herself on the ground, clutching her hurting ankle. "Oww…"

"COMPA!" A most concerned yell resonated the chaotic forest, with the nurse's trustworthy friend instantly altering her course and bolting towards the fallen peachette. IF wasted no time, grabbing Compa's arm and pulling her up on her feet again. But, in doing so, Iffy quickly lost balance herself, her foot quickly hitting another branch. Panicking, the brunette stomped her legs against the ground, in fruitless attempts to regain her footing. A few moments passed before the girls staggered, their backs violently thudding against the ground.

The fall was enough to bring Emril to a stop, the foreigner's head darting towards his collapsed companions. Before him were IF and Compa, in the corner of his vision—the monster horde, mere seconds away from reaching them. Before the girls could get up, it would be far too late.

He had to save them.

But he would die trying.

But he simply couldn't leave the girls behind.

But the horde was nearly upon them.

Did he have anything to lose?

"Oh, screw it!" The man threw his arms in the air, breaking into another sprint and nearly charging at the wave of death, which grew more vicious as monsters neared their prey. IF and Compa were already tightly holding each other, in what seemed to be their final embrace before a terrible demise.

Emril's right arm caught a cyan glow, but just as he was about to throw it forward…

 _Clap._

 _Clap._

…

The growling doom that was the myriad of beasts froze in place. Leaves that fluttered down to the pathway now hovered in the air, motionless. Pebbles that bounced off the vibrating ground either hung above the dirt, or were glued to it.

Everything was still. Immobile. As if turned to stone.

Iffy slowly turned her head, the girl's eyes landing on a frozen Fenrir lunging at her, its razor sharp claws less than a meter away from her chest. Its snout wide open, eyes blood-red and filled with predator rage. But the wolf never reached her.

Pressing her left palm against the ground, IF turned around, with nothing but disbelief and confusion drawn on her features. Her shocked state only grew stronger as the brunette caught sight of leaflets staying perfectly still above the ground, which also seemed to be true for Emril. The man's gaze was fixated on the frozen swarm of enemies, eyebrows drawn together and irises glowing a dingy yellow color. It didn't take a genius to realize—he was completely stunned, too.

A painfully loud silence took over for a few seconds. Eventually, the group heard a voice.

" _Phew… For a second, I thought I was too late."_

Before either of the brunettes could voice their countless questions, a male figure emerged from behind the trees. Judging by appearance, the person was somewhere around his late teenage years. He had short brown hair, coupled with a pair of purple eyes, and boasted a grey tee-shirt covered with a black track jacket. The guy's lower body displayed a pair of navy blue jeans and black boots, and on his lower back were two dagger sheaths, with a few rhombic shapes seen on the handles.

Scanning the stranger with his eyes, Emril crooked an eyebrow as their gazes met, even if for a brief moment. Purple eyes…

 _..._ _the farthest from the entrance was a brown-haired individual, sitting with crossed legs and looking around with_ purple eyes _._

Neppuccino. He was there.

"Is everyone all right?" The guy asked, calmly approaching IF and Compa, who were still recovering after a blood-curdling near-death experience. All he got in response, though, was a quick nod from the brown-haired agent, before seeing the girls hug each other again. As the lad heard a few muffled sobs, he quietly nodded to himself and let them be, approaching Emril instead. "Well, looks like the girls need some time alone… Which is fine, because I wanted to have a word with you."

"Mind explaining what you just did?" The bearded foreigner asked with a raised brow, pointing at the immobile monster horde with his thumb. "In particular, how you managed to stop time just like that. No special moves or anything, just two claps and that's it."

Instead of replying, the purple-eyed teen shot a quick glance at Emril's companions, noticing how the girl in a peach-colored sweater was crying into the brunette's shoulder. After a quick gesture, the two guys took a few steps away from the myriad and the lasses, and soon after the mystery man spoke.

"..I'm sorry for being mean, but did you really have to stand like a stump for so long?" He shot a scolding glance at Von Liris. "It's a good thing I came by when I did, otherwise I'm pretty sure those two would be monster lunch."

"Hey, it's one thing to read about valiant and heroic acts in books and comics," Emril wasted no time in crafting a response, "another thing is doing it yourself. These acts of "bravery" more often kill people and give no payoff whatsoever."

"Well, I mean, getting cold feet isn't something to be proud of, either."

"I don't remember saying anything about being proud. Plus, admit it, even you would get stuck if you were thrown into a hard choice with a flick of a pen."

"Just saying," the guy shrugged his shoulders. "Anyway, I think I know you…"

"Yeah, I'm that guy you saw at the café, if that's what you're won-"

"Emril Von Liris, huh? I've heard a lot of things about you."

With crossed arms, Emril noticeably crooked an eyebrow, shooting a quizzical look at his interlocutor. "Now where did _that_ come from? Did I already make so much noise in that café that people know me by name?"

…

"Unless…" The marked man's peepers narrowed, as he scanned the teenage guy again. Purple eyes, brown hair, young appearance, black jacket and blue trousers…

A sudden realization hit Von Liris like a truck, his eyes widening slightly and mouth gaping open. "Nah… You can't be that guy, there's no way."

"So you don't think that a kid who stops time sounds familiar?" He tilted his head, cracking a little smile. "You must've heard about me somewhere, since people back there tend to talk about us two a lot. Back "home", if that makes sense."

"It… does fit, yeah," one of the two foreigners nodded to himself, his arms folded into a thinking pose. "But how'd you end up here? Suddenly woke up in a hotel room or what?"

" _Care to explain the world suddenly pausing on us?"_

"Later." The young brunet answered his bearded acquaintance, before turning to face the two girls stepping closer to them, Compa's left arm over Iffy's shoulder, the nurse's eyes a bit redder than usual, her left ankle sprained. The agent's globes, on the other hand, were narrowed and puzzled, like the girl was currently trying to solve a ten-by-ten magic square. "What is it?"

"Oh, I don't know, _that!?_ " IF called out mockingly, before pointing her free arm at the still monster horde that nearly took all their lives just a few seconds ago. "What the hell did you do?!"

"Ah, I call it "Time-out"," he began explaining. "Basically, I can stop time in a pretty short radius around me, so, say, Lowee won't get affected by my power in any way. It's also possible for me to negate the effect on a specific person or object, but that requires a bit more concentration. Thing is, though, I can't really hold it for longer than an hour, so…" The mystery man's voice bled into silence, with him pointing at the frozen swarm with his head. "I don't think we should let those monsters sit there."

"Guy's got a point," before the brunette agent could express her confusion further, Emril intervened. "'Tis not like we can just turn around and go, at some point this horde'll start moving again and the city's getting the rough end of the stick."

Still lost, but with most of her questions answered, Iffy shot a doubtful look at the stranger: "And I bet we're the only ones who can move now… Right?"

"Yes."

"Ugh…" She groaned slightly, her gaze trained on the stationary myriad of beasts. With a slight shrug and a tone best described with the phrase "I am completely and totally done with this crap", IF uttered out: "I guess it's the old-fashioned way, then…"

"I-I can help, Iffy," Compa suddenly addressed her friend, making the most determined face she could with glassy eyes while trying to stand on her own. It… _kind of_ worked?

"Compa, you should rest," the agent replied quickly, but calmly. "You can barely walk, and they're frozen, so you don't need to worry. We'll finish them quickly."

"I doubt it'll even be that bad," Emril threw in. "What, just smack something until it dies? I can do that."

* * *

 **One and a half hour later…**

"OK… Forget I said anything back there…" Von Liris uttered out, slowly moving his arms around like you would after a good… _ten_ hours at the gym. "Man, I'm sore…"

It's been about thirty minutes since the brunet trio has cleaned up the impending threat that was the monster horde. Thanks to the mystery figure's bizarre ability to bend time to his will, the myriad was completely stationary, which made this seemingly heroic act into nothing but smacking beasts and enemies with weapons until they looked dead enough. The downside of this, however, was the fact that relentlessly hitting things for about an hour long has surely taken its toll on the group.

Simply put, they were exhausted as hell, and on their way back to the Planeptune city.

"I'm gonna need new sharp katars after all this…" IF complemented the marked man's exhausted statement with one of her own, pulling the blue sleeve of her coat down to check the blades attached to the girl's forearms. "That took… far too long…"

"Hey… at least we took care of it…!" Kerwan pointed at both of his brown-haired companions, with the weakest smile he could crack. "Now we can all get a Nep-Bull or something and carry on, knowing we're actually alive…!"

"Hooraaaaay." Emril sarcastically dragged out, unenthusiastically punching the air in a mocking victory gesture. "How long until we're back in the city again? I could go for a drink… Or three."

"Uhh…" Iffy rubbed her forehead softly, her gaze cast forward, towards the modern city of Planeptune. "Not far now, just a little bit more…" She muttered in an irritated voice, her shoulders slightly slumped down due to overbearing fatigue. With her statement, the group went back to quietly trudging through the once again noiseless forest, each member of the party seemingly wondering about something of their own.

For the first time in a while, the brunette girl couldn't think of anything else but rest. Sure, there was work to be done, and Neptune was still missing, which left Planeptune basically without any Goddesses, but all Iffy found looking forward to was buying some cold root beer, going home, turning on the AC, and reading something in peace… In a nice, relaxing environment… without any monsters rushing to bite through her jugular, or immobilizing her before delivering death by asphyxiation…

Just her, Compa, and home sweet home...

The thought alone already sounded like a blissful dream.

"Ey," a few taps on the dreamy girl's shoulder followed, "mind doing something for me?"

"What?" IF spoke quietly, in a voice so cute and gentle that it almost sounded like a separate tone she had developed for certain occasions. Moments after, the agent cleared her throat, shaking off the sudden cutesy personality of hers and replying in her usual demeanor. "What do you want, Em?"

"This is by no means a life-and-death matter, but…" Emril leaned down slightly, his eyes on the same level as Iffy's as he used his poking finger to instead point towards Compa's lower body as they kept walking. "If I were you, I'd probably talk to her about that… More notably, how she wears that and _bends over_ like it's no problem at all. Entirely up to her, of course, but it's really for her own good: she's bound to get stares from people thirsty eno-"

The bearded man's words stuck in his throat as abruptly as his left arm shot upwards, blocking the oncoming slap from his brown-haired companion.

"Creep," she muttered, a thick line in between her eyebrows. "What did you see and when?"

"Easy, lady," he replied, his voice making it clear that he was trying to cool the situation down, "it was purely accidental. Turned around at a bad time when she was picking something up, doesn't necessarily make me perverted."

"Yes it does," Iffy retorted. "You can just not look, you know."

"What are you talking about?" The purple-eyed stranger leaned back, joining the conversation. "I heard something about looking and perverts."

"Compa's skirt is too short, that's what," Emril quickly deadpanned, and took away the agent's chance at commenting first. Needless to say, he was speaking in a joking manner, but it was still enough to annoy IF. After the marked man's reply, the guy in a black jacket peeked back towards the oblivious candy-striper, in particular the girl's skirt barely covering her rather supple legs.

"Oh yeah, true," he noted, narrowing his eyes. "That, _and_ thigh highs? It's almost like she's asking for it…"

"Perverts…!" IF hissed at the two guys discussing her best friend's choice of clothes, clearly irritated.

"I mean, if I was a thirsty teenager and I saw a shapely cute girl bending over in a short skirt, I wouldn't be able to keep to myself," the time bender pointed out, before getting his attention grabbed by none other than the nurse herself.

"Umm, is everything OK?" Compa addressed the trio suddenly, causing their heads to perk up in unison. The healer's secret worries of there being a dispute behind her back were quickly dispelled with a couple of hand flails and a reassuring smile from the brunette.

"N-No no no, it's all right! We were just discussing what to do once we're in the city!" She stuttered slightly, hoping the peachette wouldn't meddle for too long. Which is when Iffy's friend turned away, the brunette let out a sigh she didn't know she was holding.

A bit of unfitting silence followed suit, before Emril asked another question, which wasn't aimed towards the girl in a blue coat.

"But _are_ you a thirsty teenager, uh… Whatever your name is?" The foreigner asked, seemingly sarcastically, but it was clear that he was genuinely curious about their cryptic savior.

"Me?" The teen pointed a thumb at himself, before speaking in a dead serious manner: "I have no name. I am but two days old."

…

The silence he got in response was one he would remember for a while. The confused mug Iffy was showing indicated that she was doubtfully mulling over the possibility of this guy actually being a nameless… _thing_ created only two days ago, meanwhile Von Liris looked more unconvinced than taken aback, like he was a hair away from saying "OK, but can you actually answer me?".

The purple-eyed man cracked a smirk, snickering a little. "Just kidding. You can call me Kerwan."

"OK, let's try that again, then. Khm khm," Emril cleared his throat slightly, and was seemingly about to repeat his earlier question, but then suddenly asked: "..How old are you, actually?"

"Nineteen…?" Kerwan answered awkwardly, to a seemingly out-of-place inquiry. "What about my age?"

"Doesn't that already make you a thirsty teenager?" The agent commented abruptly, her voice lacking any sense of sarcasm.

The accused time manipulator crooked an eyebrow at IF's statement: "I'm not trying to violate anyone, am I?"

"Where is it…?" Compa's cutesy distressed mumbling was the ice breaker, and the reason for the group to stop their walk. Quieting down, the sharp female elbowed Emril and Kerwan in the side before approaching her peachette friend, who was having trouble locating something in her pouch. At one point, the candy-striper seemed to have found what she was looking for, but as she was retracting her hand, the object slipped from her grasp, and landed on the ground beneath her. An adorable "Whoops!" followed after the unintended mistake, as the girl bent over to pick it up.

Wait, _bent over?_

Without looking around her, but secretly hoping not to mess up, Iffy raised her opened palms, maintaining them on a level slightly above her own head.

"Uhm?"

"I know how to close my eyes, you know."

"Shush," Iffy quickly ordered, her emerald peepers trying their hardest to not peek Compa's way, in order to prevent the easily flustered girl from seeing her bestie's fantastic well-rounded hips, her... plump, soft and silky smooth posterior... the slender and eye-catching form of her supple thighs which some girls would die for…

…

Quickly, the agent realized her grave mistake, but not before her face turned redder than a strawberry.

"..S-Someone cover my eyes. Quick."

"See what I mean now, If-"

"J-Just do it..!"

With an audible sign, Emril moved his right palm over IF's eyes, the blushing agent's pupils dilated. "All right, all right… I'll save you the trouble of falling head-over-heels in the middle of the forest."

"W-What are you saying, idiot..?!"

"There, found it!" Compa chirped, holding her phone up as if to let everyone see her discovery. Straightening herself and turning around, what she had plastered on her face—a look of glee and accomplishment—quickly turned into a confused mug, a question mark or two floating above her head. "Umm… Why are you covering each other's eyes?"

The three brown-haired individuals, who still stood in a pretty ridiculous pose, all said the same phrase in response.

" _Don't ask."_

* * *

 **Later…**

 ****Back to the relative safety of their purple modern city, the group of hunters had collected their reward for completing the quest, as well as a financial compensation for the monster horde they had to fend off. However, Emril's cut hasn't been issued instantly, which led to the Guild workers having him fill out few documents before providing him with a credit card, which could only hold payments from the Guild itself. They also advised him to get a card of his own. With the newly obtained plastic money, the group left the Guild and began wondering the streets of Planeptune.

Which led to them seeking out a café they could rest in, and possibly order some beverages. Waiting for their drinks, the group took the opportunity to enjoy the relaxing atmosphere of the place they were in: Compa sank back into her seat and let out a sigh of relief, Kerwan and IF shortly found themselves absorbed into their phones, idly scrolling about whatever news or social media posts they could find, and Emril…

"...Oh yeah, I still don't have a phone."

The other brunets snapped their gazes away from their devices, staring at him in bewilderment: " _What?_ "

"What, "what"?" The marked man crooked an eyebrow, leaning back into the comfy seat and putting his hands up in a questioning manner. "Mind you, I didn't have the time or the opportunity to go get one."

"You're thirty-something, and still don't have a phone?" Kerwan pressed his forearms against the table, with a tilted head and his bemused expression now accompanied by an entertained smile. "Really?"

"Whuh-wha-?!" Em uttered out something akin to a hybrid of laughing and sounds of pure disbelief, the foreigner's eyes narrowing at his nineteen year-old acquaintance. "Since when am I thirty?!"

"Hey, you look like a thirty year-old at _least_ , you know." The teenager emphasized, gesturing as he spoke to put even more emphasis on his assumption, which was soon to be obliterated by only three words.

"I'm twenty-two!"

…

Kerwan seemed to have frozen in place, like an old android trying to process a piece of newfound information. Iffy's gaze showed something that looked like disbelief, clear evidence that she felt like Emril was just playing with them. This man over here, at the very least six feet tall, with a beard and a voice deep enough to scare people, claims to be only a bit older than _twenty_? No way. Though, as hard as it was for the brunette to believe it, she chose to stay quiet.

The hush carried on for a few long seconds, just in time for the waitress to come back, tray in hand. Said tray was a stand for four different drinks, all of them looking like they were just out of a fridge. One was a 0.3 glass bottle of Nepsi, with numerous tiny droplets scattered about the transparent container, which could also be said about a pint-sized glass of root beer that stood next to the cola. On the same board was a Nep-Bull and another pint of strawberry smoothie, straw resting inside the glass of pinkish liquid. The order was received in silence as the cheery café worker placed down a drink next to each customer at the table: Nepsi for Emril, Nep-Bull for Kerwan, root beer for IF, smoothie for Compa. Even if no words were spoken, a little nod from each of them seemed to be a good enough replacement.

"Hehe, I thought Em-Em was forty," the nurse took the chance to break the noiseless atmosphere around their table, giggling innocently. What she got in response is a few confused Emril noises, which were quickly put aside as the man took a sip from his ice cold beverage, and addressed the group.

"OK, but where do I get a good phone that won't fall apart the second I poke it?"

"Hm?" The Guild agent perked her head up slightly, soon flashing Von Liris a smile. "I know a good store if you want something trustworthy." IF put her phone down on the table and leaned forward, which Emril almost took as a sign of respect. (' _If she has her phone down when talking to someone, it's bound to mean something.'_ ) "There's a shop not too far from here called "Genesis". It's the best stop if you want a good phone with neat accessories, and it also has repair services in case something you bought from there breaks."

The man cracked a little smirk at Iffy, barely resisting from commenting on how the Guild agent could make a great advertiser had things played out differently. "All right, what about the prices?"

Iffy most likely took it as a question about two things instead of one: A. How much money they received from the Guild, since they haven't checked the reward after collecting it; B. The costs Genesis usually put out for their devices. Quickly grabbing her phone and tapping on its display a few times, the brunette turned the screen to face Emril's way and leaned forward a little more, just to make sure he saw everything. Her smartphone currently had a bank app open, and one of the things on screen read:

" _Standard" Card—_ _ **67312CR**_

"We got 50000 Credits as a compensation for that monster horde," IF explained, in response to the man's genuinely surprised mug. "Phones usually cost about 3500, so you shouldn't worry about the prices."

"Uh huh," Von Liris kept his gaze fixed on the impressive amount of money as he took another sip of his Nepsi. "So money isn't something I should fuss over. Where's the store?"

"Waitwaitwaitwait," Kerwan intervened, " _fifty grand_?!"

"We're rich~~!" Compa beamed, throwing her arms in the air like she'd just won a lottery. Instead of joining her friend's mini celebration, IF's attention was instantly grasped by the sight of the nurse's boastful E-cups weakly bouncing up along with her arms, which presented the challenge of looking away before someone sees the brunette staring at the peachette's genuinely impressive bust.

Finally managing to tear her emerald peepers away from it, Iffy quickly blinked a few times. "Y-Yeah… It's a great reward, even if we almost died before getting it," she cracked a weak smile, gently rubbing her eyes like you would after a nice nap.

"You said five grand was already a good amount," Emril started, arms crossed on his chest, "and now everyone—myself included—has ten times more. How good of a hotel room can I rent with that amount of money?" He smirked cheekily, referencing the analogy IF had used before to describe the value of Credits to him.

"Five-star, and for a long while..." The brunette was quick to respond. "Honestly, we're lucky to get so much from an E-rank quest."

"Yeah, even though it went about as well as a deus ex machina play," Von Liris pointed at Kerwan with his glass bottle, before taking a quick sip from it. "And this guy's our god tied up on a string."

"I guess that's a good way of putting it," the time bender looked away with a little smile, cracking open his cold Nep-Bull.

With the party aware of their financial situation, they chose to enjoy their beverages in silence, some looking out the window, and some browsing their phones again. Emril took the unintentional minute of quiet to lean back into the cushioned seat, one of his hands behind the man's head and the other holding onto a now half-full Nepsi bottle, glass riddled with droplets. Iffy's thoughtful, yet somewhat relaxed eyes were fixed on her device, browsing Nepstation's various news articles, meanwhile Kerwan scrolled through Chirper, snickering quietly every now and then as a sign of him locating a funny post.

Unlike every silence the group had sat in prior, this one felt oddly comfortable, almost at home. It was the kind of silence a cheery group of students would find itself in, the kind which would be characteristic for a couple on a walk. Instead of painfully awkward or terrifyingly confused, it was warm, welcoming.

At one point, the marked man spoke up from his reclined position: "How's your leg, by the way?" He raised an eyebrow at Compa, who was just about done checking something on her phone.

"Oh," the peachette perked her head up with a curious expression, as she gave her injured ankle a few twists and moves to check how it's feeling, "it hurts, but a little rest and I'll recover in no time." She smiled confidently, a beam Emril appreciated with a corner of his mouth rising up into a smirk.

Eventually, though, the welcoming demeanor the grin had carried bled into something different—it turned caring, like the face of a young adult addressing his fiancée. "That's nice to know. How about you?" He glanced at Iffy, who quickly looked up from her phone as Emril addressed the agent. "You fell down as well, didn't you?"

"Well, about as fine as you can be after almost seeing a Fenrir pierce your chest…" IF shot an oddly thoughtful, almost disappointed gaze through the window, looking as if she was mad at herself for not doing better, for falling down and putting Compa in grave danger. Few seconds passed as the brunette stared at the street outside, before taking a nip of her root beer and cracking a professional smile, one which you would see from an old man who has seen a lot in his day. "I've been through worse, though, so I should be fine."

"Can you walk?"

"We just walked from the forest to here, Em. Do you think I can walk?" Iffy peeked at Emril, her knowledgeable smile turning into a friendly one. "It'll take more than a sprained ankle to put me down."

"There's a girl sitting at this very table," the man emphasized each of his words by poking the table, "who is _very_ lucky to have such a good bodyguard."

"I mean, how should we know you didn't actually lean on something, or some _one_ , while walking?" Kerwan suddenly pitched in, glancing at IF and holding his pinky out in a certain direction. Curious to see who the mystery man was pointing at, the brunette turned her head, only for her eyes to land on Compa enjoying her smoothie. "I can see it happening."

Before any of the girls could react accordingly, Emril pointed at them while holding his bottle, and noted: "I think it'd be the other way around, Kerwan. I'm more keen to believe Compa'd lean on IF, since she had a bit more trouble walking."

"Nep-Nep always told me: "A friend is someone you can lean on," so Iffy can lean on me all she wants!" Compa smiled sweetly at the guys after speaking.

"Maybe it would be best for Nep to learn how to lean less on her friends, though…" Now it was IF's turn to show a grin, however this one was dripping with an awkward undertone, contrary to the nurse's warm beam.

"That reminds me," the bearded man's expression rapidly shifted to a look of curiosity, "what are you gonna do after this? You know, after we finish our drinks? Aside from showing me where Genesis is and everything."

"I'll probably relax at home a bit," Kerwan replied nonchalantly, shaking his Nep-Bull a bit to check how much he had left. "See if I can craft some weapons and sell them to someone."

"Got some work at the Basilicom," IF was the next person to speak, letting the purple-eyed teen speak first as she drank a bit of her root beer. "There's a lot going on, so they'll need any help they can get."

"I need to check back at the hospital, I'm sure they need me." Compa commented, and followed up with a taste of her strawberry beverage. The girl's peach irises jumped towards the brunette, quick enough to capture the questioning look Iffy was giving her.

"Are you sure?" She crooked an eyebrow at the nurse. "Your work has a lot of walking around, I'm not sure it's a great idea right now..."

"Iffy's right," Kerwan glanced at the peachette shortly after, eyebrows slightly narrowed. "Your leg is twisted, you're most likely tired after all the running and walking we just did, and you almost died. I think taking a break wouldn't be a bad idea at all."

"I'm gonna have to agree with these two," Emril nodded slightly, pointing at the other two brown-haired party members with his index and pinky fingers. "I'd take a breather, if I were you. Going to work, which is most likely stressful, with all the stuff that happened just about now, isn't really smart."

"I'm really happy that you worry about me," Compa lowered her eyebrows slightly, morphing her smile of happiness into a face best described with the line 'I hope you understand', "but everyone's working really hard, and I wanna help bring back Nep-Nep and Ge-Ge, too."

No reply followed: the two guys chose to keep quiet and let IF handle everything. Slowly turning towards her, phone down, the brunette looked into the nurse's eyes, with the most sincere and genuine look she could make.

Just as Iffy's lips parted, and the first word was about to come out…

"Hold on, Nep-Nep?" Kerwan tilted his head. "Isn't Neptune the CPU of this nation? And Gear—her sister?"

"Yep," the peachette nodded, before unintentionally stressing her agent friend out by saying: "They got sucked into a different dimension, and we gotta find a way to bring them back."

"Compa, it's a secret...!" Iffy whispered, delicately giving her nurse a weak nudge on the side. Even though the heads-up was voiced, it was too late—the brunette's slightly worried peepers caught sight of Emril gently wagging his finger at her, eyes wide open. ' _Dammit…'_

"See, I knew somethin' was up," he addressed her. "You didn't have to hide anything from me, Iffy."

"Ugh..." Iffy rolled her eyes, before leaning forward and pointing at both guys, her eyes dead serious. "This better stay between us. If this reaches the citizens' ears, it's causing a massive panic. Don't tell this to anyone, got it?"

Kerwan's mug quickly grew confused, as he glanced back at the agent: "Why would I tell that to anyone? I know how people react when their CPUs are missing, and I know it's not pretty. Those three years while they were gone is definitely not something I wanna see happening again."

"And I personally know enough to understand that a leaderless nation is likely to create anarchy," the marked man replied casually, taking the last swig from his glass bottle of cola. "There's gotta be a few rebels anywhere, after all. What was it," Emril pointed at Compa, his face suggesting that he was trying to remember something, "Arfjord's crime syndicate?"

"Somewhere in the world, an Arbore just started crying at her name getting misspelled again," Kerwan cracked a smirk at the man beside him.

"Hehehe, you sound like Nep-Nep now," the peachette giggled, finishing her strawberry smoothie. "She always gets her name wrong, and makes miss Arfoire super angry, but I'm not sure if she does it on purpose or not."

"It's Nep, of course she gets it wrong on purpose," Iffy cracked an amused grin, and took a swig of her root beer. After placing the nearly emptied pint on the table, she glanced at Emril: "Also, Em, just for reference, it's Arfoire Syndicate of International Crime. Or ASIC, for short."

Having taken another drink of her beverage, emptying the glass, the emerald-eyed agent turned to face her cute friend again, choosing to address the elephant in the room. "Still, Compa, there's no need to push yourself so much. You'll only make me worried," She continued, her face showing a look of genuine worry, "So rest at least for now. If something comes up, I'll call you." The katar wielder threw out the ace up her sleeve on the table. She knew best that, once Compa had her mind set on something, she wasn't going to let go of it.

The candy-striper couldn't help but listen to her friends: she was known for being a hard worker, but also hated troubling those close to her. Compa smiled reassuringly: "Okay. I don't want to worry you, but promise that you'll really call me," the nurse made one last comment, to which IF replied with a friendly beam of her own.

"I promise," the brunette soothed her.

"Just fu-"

Suddenly, the serenity of their conversation was interrupted by Emril rapidly moving his hand over Kerwan's mouth, shutting him up right before the time bender could say one more word. "Goin' a bit too far, buddy. Not yet."

IF responded to the teen's cut-off statement with a death stare. Compa, on the other hand, tilted her head, a question mark floating above her head.

"Uh… Why is Em-Em covering Ker-Ker's mouth?"

"I don't think you wanna know," Von Liris replied flatly.

"OK…" The peachette dragged out, still wondering over what Kerwan was trying to say. Shrugging it off, Compa cleared her throat, and started getting up from her seat: "All righty, then, I need to tell the hospital about my break. I don't want them thinking I left like a bad nurse."

Iffy and the guys repeated after the nurse, standing up and walking away from the table, their beverages now drunk. Nodding at the beaming waitress one by one, the group exited the café, the entrance door slowly closing behind them. A gust of much warmer air gently hit their faces, and the quietude of the coffeehouse was replaced with chatter, and the usual sounds of a busy Planeptune street.

"All right, take care and don't rush too fast," the brunette gave her childhood friend a wave before she turned around, starting to walk away from the group while trying her best not to lean on her hurt leg too much.

"Bye-bye, everyone!" Compa said, before turning away, focusing on where she was going. Eventually, she started disappearing into the crowd, and completely vanished from their sight as she took a turn.

After waving back at the peachette, the group went quiet for a few seconds. A silence, soon to be interrupted by the purple-eyed time bender.

"By the way, IF," Kerwan asked, "can I have your number? Maybe we can go hunting together tomorrow, with Em."

"Well, I don't mind," she answered, getting the flip phone out from its strap with a familiar set of quick moves. After opening the device, Iffy entered the needed menu, which showed her phone number. The agent pointed the display towards the teen: "Here. I'll send you Em's number once we get him a phone, but for now, save mine and call me."

"OK."

After exchanging phone numbers, both hid their devices away, and Kerwan quickly turned around. "See you tomorrow, then."

"Later," the Guild agent waved at the purple-eyed time bender as he departed from the group, heading the same way Compa took when she was leaving. In no time, there was only Iffy and Emril left, standing near the café like a couple of students waiting for their friends' arrival.

The marked foreigner wasted no time in addressing the brunette: "Let's go to the tech store, then?"

"Yeah," she nodded. "Let's go get you a phone."

"Yaaaay," the man stretched out in an uncharacteristically cute voice, holding up his fists next to his chest in a celebratory way, like a tech geek after being told they were getting a robot as a present.

"Someone's excited," Iffy raised an eyebrow, the corners of her mouth raised up into a curious smile. "You're into tech?" She asked.

"You can say that again," Em shrugged as his usual tone made a comeback, the foreigner delivering his words almost as facts. After scratching his beard, the man followed up with a question of his own: "Plus, who wouldn't be excited about getting a new gadget?"

"True," she honored him with a nod of agreement, before the two of them set off towards their next destination—Genesis.

Seeing as IF knew where the gadget store was, she took the lead, Emril following in her footsteps as the two of them traced through the lively groups of pedestrians. The brunette was quick to reach for her cellular device again—the smartphone this time (" _Wait, why does she have two phones?"_ )—and start browsing Nepstation, presumably continuing the news reading she had started back in the café. The girl was rewarded with an intelligent, but surprisingly endearing look, a demeanor the marked man found oddly likeable.

The streets themselves filled him with a nice sense of peace: even though Von Liris has only been here for about a day now, he was really glad people could serenely enjoy their lives in a nation like Planeptune, without having to worry about any sort of impending doom or threat. The risk of dying back in Virtua Forest was pretty concerning, but it was certainly worth taking, and that was something both Iffy and Emril could agree on wholeheartedly. But all that was behind them now, and the two brown-haired friends had other things to think about.

For example, _what kind of phone was he going to get at Genesis?_

 _How good were the devices?_

 _What colors were available?_

 _Would he get headphones along with the phone?_

Emril knew that getting so excited over something seemingly trivial—like a phone—was probably overreacting, but he couldn't help it. The man always turned into a kid on Nepmas night when there was a possibility of him getting something new, whether it be a phone or another gadget. Though, maybe he'd have to watch himself and not buy half of the store once they arrive—fifty thousand Credits _was_ a hefty amount of money, according to the astute brunette right beside him.

Speaking of whom…

"By the way, Iffy," Von Liris spoke up, earning her attention, "I'm curious. Aside from Neptune, what are the other CPUs like?"

"Hm?" IF looked up from her phone, now looking at the wondering foreigner with her eyebrow raised. "What do you mean by that?"

"You know, it's way too common that the leader of a country or city looks to be nice, but then you meet them in person and they're literally the worst person ever. Are all the rulers around here as cheery and carefree as her, or...?" Emril's thumb pointed at the giant tower where the Goddess had resided before the untimely disappearance.

"Well, I don't think I can just randomly talk about their personal lives," the agent excused herself. "All I'm going to say is… Don't be surprised if you end up meeting them." The statement was complimented with an awkward smile, the brunette seemingly reminiscing about the time she herself had the idea that the Goddesses were some egotistic princesses.

"OK, then," the man nodded, thinking that the banter was going to end there, just like that. It was then, however, that a new question arose. "Hey, Iffy?"

"What?"

"Who the hell is Nepgear?"

"Oh, she is Planeptune's CPU Candidate, Nep's little sister. She's also our childhood friend," IF informed, finishing with a rather proud smile.

"Talk about a friend circle," Emril commented, with his arms crossed on his chest and a slightly cheeky smirk. "First a nurse, and now the Goddess' little sis. Actually, do the other CPUs have sisters?"

"Well, yes and no… Both Planeptune and Lastation have a Candidate, and Lowee has two, while Leanbox has none."

"Really?" The man's eyes widened. "How come?"

"Don't look at me…" Iffy shrugged, with an unaware look on her face. "I'm clueless, too."

"Huh… All right, I'll keep that in mind."

With that sorted out, the two quieted down, allowing them to pay more attention to their whereabouts. Emril was completely surprised to realize that they've ended up in a much different place after what seemed to be less than ten minutes of chatting, but a good look around was enough to inform him where he and IF ended up—a plaza.

A crowded, open area, what seemed to be a complete debunktion of the common belief that nothing was perfect: this place seemed faultless, _ideal_ for get-togethers or meetups. There was a wide staircase right in front of them, which not only led to a higher level of the plaza, but also allowed anyone to ascend even further, eventually reaching the entrance of a mall tower, which featured a revolving door. It was hard to ignore the seriously impressive size of the tower: nearly reaching the clouds in the sky, and showing itself to be rather wide, it looked like a place which sold everything one could think of.

Though, Emril's attention was surprisingly poured into something much different.

An advertising screen sat above the revolving door, with a gun store commercial rolling at the moment:

" _We at Armatune believe in honoring the past by embracing the future. Every Armatune weapon is designed by the skilled technicians in our bleeding-edge laboratories to pack as much punch as possible. Our staff of artisans crafts each weapon to look as good as it performs. Armatune offers a full line of pistols, shotguns, rifles, and rocket launchers to fit every style. If it's not kickass, it's not an Armatune."_

"...I want a shotgun."

"Huh?" IF glanced at him with narrowed eyebrows, before shifting her view to the advert. "Really? A shotgun? You're best keeping your distance from monsters, you know?"

"Then you didn't see me at work," Von Liris replied matter-of-factly, crooking his brow at her. "Close range is kind of what I specialize in."

"If you say so…" The brunette muttered unsurely, moments before remembering something vital. She drove her palm slowly to her forehead before speaking: "Oh yeah, I forgot I had my gun in there for repairs…" She sighed, seemingly disappointed in something. "Well, makes more a reason to come with you, then…"

"OK, I don't mind," he shrugged. "Always like company."

* * *

 **Thirty minutes later…**

 _Click!_

"All right, that should be everything," Iffy commented under her breath, sheathing her pistol back into the newly obtained hip holster after doing a quick check, making sure everything was in order. She then peeked at her overly cheery companion, who was twisting and turning around a sawed-off double barrel shotgun in his hands, getting a closer look at the gun now that it was his own. "That's an… interesting choice," she scratched her forehead. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone with such a close range weapon… Aren't you better with a sword or something?"

"Swords're nothing compared to this," Emril answered enthusiastically, pulling down the shotgun barrels to reveal where the cartridges go. He then grabbed the weapon by the handle, yanking it up slightly to make the barrel close by itself. "The damage you can do with a shotgun is a lot more serious than anything you could ever do with a blade. Plus, _just look at this thing!_ "

"Jeez…" The brunette smiled awkwardly, half-heartedly enjoying the more childish and dreamy side of Emril. "Just make sure you're careful with it."

Putting his shotgun into his new thigh holster, the man accompanied IF on their walk towards the street, which served as a sort of crossroads for them. After idly standing about for a couple of minutes, the agent was the first to talk: "Well then, I should head back to the Basilicom now, I have some work to do."

"Right, I'll see you tomorrow, then," Von Liris flashed her a warm smile, a grin you'd usually show your close friends. "I'll probably just look around the place for now. Might as well."

"Fair enough," she nodded. Starting to leave, Iffy gave Emril a wave before starting to walk. "And you have my number in case something comes up. Give me a call, I'll be sure to reply when I can."

"For sure," the man showed a thumbs up, beginning to turn around himself. "Later, then."

Now at a pretty decent walking pace, Von Liris let out a quick breath, the corners of his mouth curling up into a smile.

"Welp, time to explore!"


	9. School of Hard Knocks

**I'm still alive! Sorry for the massive hiatus I ended up taking. I was gonna dedicate summer to this story, but a lot of personal matters got in the way (surgery being one of them). Plus, I am planning to shift to a "buffer" method of uploads where I have some chapters written and publish the old ones while working on the new. As of now I have another chapter written and one in the works, and I'll try not to take half a year to publish again.**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I loved writing it. See ya! :D**

* * *

 _The echoing click-clacks of her shoes subside as Compa steps into a lone room, located in the mental health department of Planeptune Central Hospital. The only noise slightly alleviating the deafening silence is a muffled sound of the busy streets of her hometown, the white and purple megapolis she lived in since childhood. Light shines through the glassed opening, donning a cozy and almost homely atmosphere in the office and dropping a shadow on whatever it lands. The peachette walks to a table, which stands against a wall to the right of the workplace, and starts preparing to work a different shift than usual._

 _The nurse isn't exactly sure how to feel: on the one hand, she is helping out her colleague,—Nellie, who had to work instead of Compa yesterday—which is great, but on the other hand, she doesn't necessarily share the same confidence as usual. The girl knows a thing or two about helping people with mental issues of different kinds, but she's never_

actually _worked a full shift at the hospital. It's a new experience, yes, and experience was, is, and will be the best teacher, but the few butterflies in Compa's stomach didn't help._

 _The idea of going out on a hunt with IF clouded her head, too. It's a shame she has to turn the invite down, but a job is a job, and it would be unethical to ignore her workmate, especially after her assist. Still, yesterday was a complete disaster, and they haven't done much proper Guild work for a good few days now._

 _Thoughts aside, it's time for the cheery nurse to flip that frown upside down._

 _Humming a merry tune, Compa smiles to herself, continuing her preparation and imagining the words she'll say to the brunette during their phone call, reciting the explanation of her absence._

" _I'm really sorry, Iffy, but I can't_

* * *

 _come with you today."_

Curiously, IF crooked an eyebrow, peeking at the device next to her ear. "Why?"

" _I need to help Nellie with her shift at the hospital today,"_ the candy-striper's familiar voice rang through the agent's flip phone. A yawn rang through the speaker shortly after. " _I'm not used to waking up so early…"_

"What about those three years, when Nep and the rest went missing?" Iffy commented, before realizing what had just happened: the nurse unknowingly set off something inevitable. "We didn't… sleep much… Yaaaawn…" Raising her free hand and hovering the palm over her mouth, she repeated after the nurse, confirming the peachette's thought that she wasn't the only sleepy one. The sleeve of the agent's grey parka, one she used as nightwear, dropped down to her elbow level, exposing the brunette's forearm and the razor sharp katar attached to it. With a few blinks, IF looked at the melee weapon nonchalantly. "Also explains why you called so soon."

" _Heheh… Sorry if I woke you up too early…"_ The emerald-eyed brunette could feel even across the phone that Compa was wearing an awkward smile. " _I didn't want to forget and end up changing your plans for today."_

"It's fine, don't worry…" Iffy reached for one of her phones, which laid face-down on the nightstand next to her bed, and turned it on. In the middle of the lock screen was a little notification bubble, which read:  
 **Upcoming alarm**  
8:00 AM

She then looked at the time:  
6:17 AM

' _I was supposed to wake up two hours later…'_

"I… was going to get up soon anyways…" IF added, phone in her wrist as she rose up a bit, leaning on her forearm and glancing down at the display. After eventually disabling the alarm clock, the brunette tapped the power button, and let the device fall on the cushiony surface of her messy bed.

She decided to take a peek at the sudden clutter around her. The bedsheets were slightly crumpled up next to the sleepy girl, the pillow cover had nearly slipped off the headrest, and Iffy's parka slid off a little, leaving one of her shoulders uncovered. The agent gently rubbed her forehead, lazily pushing herself up from the bed. Soon after her feet touched the warm carpet laid out on the floor, she heard her friend's voice again:

" _Ooh, really? So you're like lady Noire?"_

"Huh..?" IF's head tilted as she pulled down the door handle, exiting her bedroom. "Where did that come from?"

" _Well, both of you sleep super late, and wake up super early too!"_ After a few seconds of silence, a sigh was heard through the speaker, Compa speaking in a disheartened, almost frustrated tone. " _If only she would listen to me and sleep properly for once…! It's not good for her health to keep up at this rate!"_ Iffy sensed a pout come through the phone.

A gulp followed, for reasons the brunette wouldn't disclose to anyone except Compa herself on a very special day. "Heh, well, I guess she can't help it. Old habits die hard, not to mention her workload…"

" _Boo, that workload isn't going anywhere. She could just rest and wake up super pumped up!"_ The peachette stated before going quiet for a bit, as if scrolling through a list of things on her mind like through a drawer full of files. " _Oh, speaking of lady Noire, did you hear about the rumors going around in Lastation?"_

"Urgh," IF eye-rolled, "again with the gossip… Honestly, what's the problem with these people?"

" _Well, I guess it's just people trying to turn faith away from her, since it's the Shift Period."_

"Oh… Yeah, I completely forgot…" The drowsy agent scratched her temple, not long before approaching the kitchen stall and grabbing a half full coffee carafe. She reached for a black-colored mug, which brandished a simple "#1 wind walker" on it, and poured herself a cup of black coffee. Sneaking in two teaspoons of sugar (' _Just a bit won't hurt, right?')_ , the brunette took her first sip from it.

Immediately, the drowsiness was erased by a wave of what seemed like pure awakening juice.

With a few blinks, IF's eyes opened wider than before, now aware of every minute thing happening around her, despite there not being much of those. "Lady Noire must be out of her mind with those," she commented, and drank a bit more from her mug. Not as refreshing as the first one, but still pleasant. "Meanwhile, I bet Nep isn't even worried. She'd probably say: " _I_ am the protag of _all_ protags, _I_ will be A-O- _K!_ " or something…" The agent raised her pitch in the best effort to recreate Neptune's sharp voice, while also mixing in a pinch of sarcasm, making her imitation satirical.

Compa giggled: " _That really sounds like Nep-Nep! You should try voice acting someday._ "

"Please no," Iffy smirked, brows narrowed as she weakly shook her head. "I think it's best to leave it for Lady Noire."

" _Yeah, you're ri- Oh! Welcome, please make yourself comfy!"_ The nurse called out through the phone; The brunette instantly recognized that wasn't directed at her. " _All righty, sorry Iffy, but I need to go, see ya!"_ Now that was.

"See ya," she replied, and the nurse hung up. With the phone call, the odd feeling of Compa's presence was gone; It's as if she was not across the wire, but right next to the awoken wind walker, like some sort of ghost or spirit. And, as the conversation cut to a close, the spirit vanished.

IF was alone in her apartment again.

She sipped her morning coffee again, before stepping over to the counter and sweeping a little remote device from the smooth surface. A quick tap on one of the buttons, and a voice was heard through the radio's speakers:

" _If you wanna bring the heat, first you gotta sweat through it. With carbs to help fuel muscles, and electrolytes to help replace what you lose in sweat, nothing beats Nepperade."_

Then, a song began playing. IF couldn't remember its name.

But what she _did_ remember is that it made her _**motivated.**_

Humming along with the track, the agent switched from the radio remote to her phone, and entered the web browser. Through a little bookmark tab at the top, the brunette soon accessed the Guild's official website. The simple, almost minimalistic design was coupled with a matching color palette to the one in Planeptune: a white background with tints of purple and pink here and there. One of the various menus at the top of the website was labeled "Quests", and it was one Iffy quickly entered. A bit of casual scrolling later, paired with idle sips from her coffee mug, and the girl's attention was caught with one quest in particular.

 **Not My Frying Pan!  
** Credits: 2200  
Type: Hunt  
Key Content:  
—Ancient Dragon  
—Hall of Fame King S.  
Reward: Blooming Hell

"Is this another one of those quests where we retrieve something completely useless..?" IF sighed, the steaming mug of coffee next to her parted lips. She shook her head slightly: "As long as we get paid, and the reward is good, I guess we're going with it…"

A mental tick of the morning to-do checklist later, the web browser was quickly replaced with the contacts menu. A bit of glancing at two new numbers in the list,—ones she had gotten from her two male acquaintances—and Iffy began tapping away on the screen again. Soon after, atop the two recently added contacts sat a new option:

 **Conference**  
 _No new messages_

The brunette sipped her coffee, only to be taken slightly aback by a sudden vibration in her hand. Eyeing the display again, she saw a new message. Upon entering the chat, IF was greeted with:

 _[Emril: Someone's up early.]_

 _[Morrow: oh cool, new group]_

 _[IF: Are you two already up?]_

 _[Emril: Spent the entire night just walking around the city.]_

 _[Morrow: i dont sleep]_

 _[IF: I see]_

 _[IF: Wait, you don't sleep?]_

 _[Morrow: nope]_

 _[Emril: Just make sure Compa doesn't hear this. She'll likely go into maximum overdrive to change that.]_

 _[Morrow: wouldnt work lol]_

 _[Morrow: stayed up for a few years now]_

 _[Emril: S#!t, now make sure Compa doesn't hear THAT.]_

 _[IF: Years?]_

 _[IF: How are you still alive?]_

 _[Morrow: somehow]_

 _[Emril: I mean, you're talking to the same guy who can't applaud 'cause each two claps will freeze and unfreeze time.]_

 _[Morrow: ...wait]_

 _[Morrow: i didnt realize that]_

 _[Morrow: fuck]_

 _[IF: Ok, let's not get carried away]_

 _[IF: Do you two know where the Guild is?]_

 _[Morrow: ye]_

 _[Emril: Yep.]_

 _[IF: Good]_

 _[IF: There's a pretty easy quest available right now, so I suggest you get ready]_

 _[Emril: OK, but lemme ask something.]_

 _[IF: What?]_

 _[Emril: Can't we meet up at a café somewhere before going to the Guild? Just so all of us get something to put in our stomach and already be on our way?]_

 _[Morrow: i dont think any cafes are open this early]_

 _[Morrow: the earliest i know opens at like]_

 _[Morrow: 7:30 or something]_

 _[Emril: And it's 6:24 right now...]_

 _[IF: I know a place]_

 _[IF: It opens really soon, will be working by the time we arrive]_

 _[Emril: Neat. Now all that's left is making sure we don't get stormed by another monster horde.]_

 _[Morrow: hey]_

 _[Morrow: we can always do what we did yesterday ;^)]_

 _[Emril: Oh, hell no.]_

 _[IF: We'll cross that bridge when we get to it]_

 _[IF: Anyway, I'll see you there]_

 _Click._

The phone screen faded to blackness.

* * *

"Have a nice day!"

One by one, the trio stepped through the café door and proceeded outside, the soft refreshing breeze serving as a sort of welcome for the brown-haired early birds. Exiting into the slowly awakening city of Planeptune, they took a walk on the pedway, one which led to a nearby Guild building and was only a tiny bit populated: one to two people passing by every now and then.

The purple-eyed lad narrowed his eyes a bit, gently licking his lips. "...I think I burned my lip, eugh."

"Told you not to rush it," a brunette glanced at him in response, speaking in a calm tone.

The tall bearded man followed up with a little smirk: "I get that their hotcakes are blissful, but yeah, you should be a bit more careful with that. Didn't burn your tongue, though, so that's something."

"True," Morrow smiled. "Tongue burns are terrible."

"Anyway, care to tell a bit about the quest we're going on?" Emril turned to IF. "You just said it was an easy one, but never mentioned the details."

"Well, it might be a bit harder for you, since the only quest you've done is kill five Dogoos and Meows," the emerald-eyed agent started, "but it's still pretty easy. We'll have to kill an Ancient Dragon and a Hall of Fame King S."

"Ancient Dragon as a warm-up?" Morrow leaned forward, shooting Iffy a concerned stare. "Are you sure? It doesn't sound easy to me."

"What kind of name is 'Hall of Fame King S'?" Emril raised an eyebrow. "What's that thing supposed to be?"

"We'll run into some weaker mobs along the way, Morrow, so I don't think that should be a problem," she replied. Then came Emril's turn to get answers, which Iffy reacted to with an expression which screamed 'I have absolutely no idea how to answer.' "And, uh, Emril, it's… I think it's best if you see it for yourself…"

"Ah, so that's our warm-up," he repeated, which Iffy confirmed with a nod. "And we'll also do a serious quest at the same time. Good thinking."

"I have no idea what to expect, but I feel like it's gonna be something terrible..." Von Liris noted under his breath, with a troubled mug.

The group walked through the door, IF opening the doors for her companions like a cowboy would enter a saloon. Quickly, they moved towards the terminal row on the left of the lobby, the brunette accessing it like yesterday and leaving the two guys to peer at the screen from behind her. It didn't take her long to find the same quest she had seen on the website a few minutes prior, though it was the first time Emril and Morrow saw the full overview.

Morrow and Emril snickered, the latter of the two lowered his head a bit, shaking it afterwards. "'Not My Frying Pan'... Makes you wonder what killing a dragon has to do with a pan."

"Maybe the thing stole it," the purple-eyed teen suggested jokingly. He glanced at the terminal again, this time paying more attention to the reward section. "And you'll get this 'Blooming Hell' item when you bring it back. What even is that…?"

Suddenly, IF turned away from the screen to gaze at him, with a proud, but somewhat mysterious smile. "Hm, I thought you could tell from just the name. It's an extremely rare item that is only believed to drop from the demon king himself, and only those who survived his wrath lived long enough to tell the tale."

"..."

"..."

Emril and Morrow exchanged glances. Then they looked at Iffy, both with a mix of surprise and pure ' _?'_ plastered all over their faces.

"…Are you OK?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" The agent pressed a hand against her hip, maintaining the same confident grin. Nonchalantly, she went back to the terminal and accepted the quest. "OK, come on, let's do this."

Iffy's two companions glanced at each other again, mutely expressing their confusion. Eventually, Emril shrugged and turned towards her, leaving Morrow alone with his now amused mug. Before they knew, the brown-haired trio was out of the building as quickly as they entered it, greeted once again by the morning wind.

Taking a few seconds for their eyes to adjust to the lighting, the mercenaries spotted a cube-shaped vehicle parked next to the Guild base. This box with wheels boasted a white color, with the roof and bumpers coated in pink. Wheels relatively small compared to the rest of the car, there were several large windows, the biggest ones being the windshield and the rear window. The interior looked as though it had plenty of seats, as well as a lot of space in the middle, enough to fit in a shipping crate.

IF smiled.

"Gentlemen, our ride is here."

Emril crooked a brow at the car, half-impressed and half-questioningly. "Interesting design for a… that's a taxi, right?"

"Eeyup," Morrow stood beside him, hands laced behind his head. "The design must look pretty weird compared to what we had in Idlehaven."

"Idlehaven's taxis were nothing special, just regular cars with the company name written on the sides," the marked man replied to his comment. His eyes turned back to their ride: "And they didn't look like they had no doors. Do we climb this thing, or break the windows?"

Iffy, having heard the question, decided to let actions speak for herself. She approached the cube and swiped her fingers across the glass pane, going from left to right. Immediately after, the formerly unseen door bulged out and slid to the right, creating an entrance for the group.

Emril whistled: "Fancy."

One after another, the Guildsmen entered the cab, the door behind them gliding shut. Two of the three seats in the back were quickly occupied by the lads, as IF approached a screen opposite to their chairs. The display showed a map, which she used to specify their destination. Along with the distance their taxi would travel, there was also a price displayed at the bottom right of the monitor— **250CR**.

' _250…. Has it always been this cheap?'_ A thought popped into the brunette's head as she hit the 'Confirm' button. The screen showed the map again, this time featuring a bright blue line that showed the road the taxi would take. IF turned around and headed for the triplet of seats, sitting down in between Emril and Morrow. Soon after, the four-wheeled box began to move, and the group could notice that, judging by the length of the path seen on the map, this road trip was going to be a long one.

* * *

 **10:04 AM**

 **BANG!**

Blue goo splattered against one of the many pink trees, making it stand out from the others that made up the Sakura Tree Row of Planeptune. Morrow sheathed his daisho, and Iffy's pistol went back to its holster. Another gun was holstered, but its user seemed a lot more excited than the other two.

Emril was beaming, despite having just murdered a Dogoo with a shotgun: "This is so much fun! I love this thing!"

"First Nep, now this…" The brunette sighed, muttering under her breath. "What do I have to do to have normal companions?"

"Whaaat?" She heard a guy's voice from behind her, which, after she turned around, proved to be Morrow's. "I'm not normal?"

"Well, when was the last time you slept?"

"Uh…" He trailed off, putting a finger at his chin and staring at the sky. Then the guy snapped his fingers and pointed at IF: "Three years, eleven months, three weeks and six days."

"..." The agent raised an eyebrow, showing a professional smile on her face.

Morrow stared at her curiously for a second. Then it hit him.

"..I just proved your point, didn't I?"

"Your words, not mine," Iffy shrugged slightly, maintaining the little smirk.

"So where's this demon king we read about?" Emril joined the conversation, right hand resting on his holstered shotgun's handle. "Or are we going for the dragon first?"

"We should find him if we delve deeper, that's always the case with these dungeons," the playful act dropped as quick as it came on, and IF sharpened up. "Whoever we come across first shouldn't matter much."

"Well, one of them is a dragon, and dragons are problematic to deal with," the bearded man noted. "Though, there's apparently a demon king to deal with, too, so I guess the difference is sma-"

" _There it is!"_

"Huh?"

"Wha-"

Emril and IF quickly darted their heads towards Morrow, who was already sprinting away from them, blazing Tachi in his grip. What he was sprinting towards was… well…

Where do I even begin?

The entity was floating a few centimeters away from the ground, mounted on a sort of brown platform, which had "SILVER" screaming on it. To both sides of the platform were pale golden blocks, the one on the left reading '78', meanwhile it said '87' on the right. The entity that mounted this platform was a short brown-colored clown-looking cookie monster, who had a _glorious_ white mustache on its face, right next to the humorously big red nose. On its chest were three silver buttons, which had smaller green circles inside them, and the monster wore white and purple striped pants as well as white round gloves. There was also a giant crown on its head, likely underlining the fact that this thing's name was 'Hall of Fame King S.'

As Morrow grew closer and closer towards the monster, it turned around and began floating away hastily. Ignoring his charging friend for just a second, Emril scanned the monster platform to crown. His mug painted him as utterly stunned.

"... **That** is the demon king?" He asked. "Why is it running away?"

IF sighed, shaking her head: "Just… Don't question it. Let's go."

"Wait, you said it's gonna be a demon king, that's a cookie mons-"

But before he could finish, Iffy was already running after Morrow, razor sharp katars peeking out of her sleeves.

"Goddammit…!" Emril shook his head, before joining the chase.

Falling behind, the two Guildsmen spectated their companion readying his weapon, preparing to strike. The purple-eyed teen leaped forward and slashed at the monster with his blade, only for it to dodge to the side. Having lost his balance due to the Tachi's weight, Morrow stumbled for a bit, then quickly regained his footing and continued sprinting. He swung his greatsword for a second time, merely hitting thin air as King S made the same old evasion.

The thing was going to flee at this rate.

"Quick bastard…" The guy let out a frustrated mumble, before having a lightbulb moment. His blade lit up, and after a motion that looked like he was tearing the handle apart, the greatsword split into two daggers, which immediately caught a sapphire blue aura. At the same time, Morrow's arm muscles contracted, like a small electrical current passed through his body.

He crouched down, like an athlete waiting for a signal to start sprinting. Both daggers entered the soil under his shoes.

A blink later, Morrow zoomed diagonally at the speed of light, leaving behind a bang that sounded like a lightning struck right where he was standing. The second he passed through King S, it froze in place, shaking violently.

The guy landed with a roll, smoothly standing up and turning around to face the beast. He hoped his trick had worked, as doing those lightning zooms one after another tended to get tiring pretty fast.

To his relief, the only movements this floating cookie monster was making were tremors.

IF could not miss this window of opportunity that had presented itself to Emril and her. Accelerating, the girl's katars began to emit a green shining, to ooze with power. Just a few meters away, she leapt with a twirl, before dishing out a complex combination of slashes, uppercuts and kicks. The brunette then hopped backwards, preparing the final hit in her combo only for her focus to be briefly interrupted by a flying object, that zoomed past her and jammed right into the King S's back. Upon closer inspection, she saw that it was an axe, positioned so that the weapon's handle stuck out to the side.

An idea was born.

She began to sprint again, jumping onto the tomahawk's handle and boosting herself off of it. A solid few meters above the ground now, her eyes caught a glimpse of Morrow piercing the monster's front with something that had a long handle, presumably his Tachi. IF's focus went back to her target's head as she sliced with both katars at once, leaving behind an X-shaped wound. The girl kicked herself off of the monster and arched her body backwards for a backflip. While falling in style, Iffy spied Emril charging at King S.

The man neared his stuck tomahawk and quickly got hold of it, before dragging the weapon's blade horizontally through the target's back. Having left behind a rather big gash, he followed up by unsheathing his shotgun and forcing its two barrels inside the wound. Emril pulled the trigger.

" _Meeeeeeeeeh!"_ Came the thing's silly death sound as it tilted to the side and fell on the ground. Emril cleaned his shotgun barrels before sheathing the gun, the axe he had stuck into dirt disappearing with a cyan light. Iffy's katars dimmed until they no longer flared green, and the fire engulfing Morrow's greatsword extinguished.

The trio stood over the vanishing Hall of Fame King S. after having defeated the surprisingly cowardly monster, disappointment lingering over them instead of usual pride or accomplishment. As the creature's crown faded into nothingness, Morrow took a step away from where it once was, crooking his eyebrow in thought. Purple eyes fixed in place, the teen's extinguished greatsword resting on his shoulder.

"That was… easy."

"Are all demons in this world like this? " Emril voiced his question in disbelief. "If the demon king is like _that_ ," his index finger was pointing at the patch of dirt beneath their feet, "then I can't imagine what your underworld would be like."

"I never told you we'd fight the demon king himself," IF noted, slightly annoyed. "I only said that the quest's reward is his drop. What we killed just now is the minor part of the quest, since the monster only scared a few people. The real quest starts when we find the dragon."

"Ooooh, sweet," the bearded man rubbed his hands in anticipation, contrary to Morrow's uneasy demeanor. "Never seen a dragon, so this should be interesting."

"Oh, Em, I've seen a dragon," the purple-eyed guy interrupted. "Those things are massive."

"Yeah, Ancient Dragons tend to be big, but as long as we coordinate, we should b- Wait, shh." Iffy interrupted herself, raising a hand and narrowing her eyebrows.

"..."

"..."

 _Grrrr…_

"Perfect timing," the brunette continued, her voice much quieter than before. "Unless someone's pulling a prank on us, that's our next target."

Quieting down again to remind herself where the sound was coming from, IF gestured to her companions to follow her, but to do it quietly as to not scare off the groaning beast. Emril and Morrow followed the brunette's lead as she walked through a few trees, the earth underneath them sprinkled with leaves and twigs that cracked with their footsteps. After what seemed to be a few minutes of sneaking, the hunters were exposed to the sight of a peaceful, almost alluring lake that found its place in the midst of a youthful forest. Next to the body of water sat their target—a crimson red dragon.

The winged lizard's legs and tail carried a darker tone of red, its sides seemingly drawn on to create broken lines and swirls you'd find on the walls of an abandoned temple. Its broad wings were closed, the beast's massive intimidating horns completely contradicting its current behavior. Grunting, the creature drank from the lake it sat next to, like the predator just wanted a bit of cold water from a natural source, and to have a break from ravaging villages and terrifying cityfolk.

"...Everyone says dragons're this scary menace that do nothing but set things on fire, but I think I was lied to," Emril commented quietly, with a frankly surprised expression on his face.

"Do we really need to kill it…?" Morrow frowned slightly at the thought.

Iffy stayed quiet. She poured her focus into analyzing the dragon, its peaceful behavior and the amount of lake water it was drinking. Though its groans were… displeased, almost pained. "I wouldn't bet on it being harmless… Something seems off."

After a few more chugs from the lake, the dragon turned its head, causing the group to hide a little behind the tree as to avoid getting spotted. Slowly peeking their heads back out, all three of them could witness their target trying to clear its throat of something, like a cat trying to cough up a hairball, but to no avail. Whatever it was the dragon had tried to swallow just wasn't coming out.

"We should get going," the bearded man said, his voice still silent. "Sad to see it this way, but a job is a job."

IF weakly darted both of her arms down, katars dropping low enough for her to grasp them. "Whenever you two are ready."

"All set," Emril placed a hand on his shotgun grip.

"Ready," Morrow grasped his daggers.

"All right, let's do this."

IF's palm glowed, grabbing the attention of the brunette's teammates as she kept a steady gaze on their unsuspecting predator turned prey. As the dragon tried once again to drink down whatever was stuck in its throat, the glimmering light twirled in her hand, the agent parting her lips and murmuring something. "La Delphinus…"

The shine faded. After it came a weak tremor.

And then the dragon's physique was completely absorbed in a blinding pillar of light.

Emril and Morrow turned away slightly, their eyes covered from the sudden explosion of brightness. The beast shrieked in pain, sensing something like thousands of tiny needles piercing its thick heated scales. It went as fast as it came: in just a few moments, the impending wall of glow dispersed, leaving nothing behind except for the dragon itself. The monster, clearly aggravated, let out an aggressive growl, back to its role of being a big scary lizard with wings.

"Let's go, come on!" Iffy called for her companions, who seemed more than eager to get the job done as quick as they could. Soon after, Emril took aim for the dragon, which, upon seeing the attackers, let its wings free. The wind stormed under the beast's command, leaving the group struggling to maintain balance as it began gaining distance. The last flap of its wings carried enough power to knock Morrow off balance, sending him reeling back only to be caught by someone's firm grip.

"Got you, you're good," Emril muttered, assisting the teen back on his feet and giving him a reassuring pat on the shoulder.

"Thanks," the guy nodded.

The trio laid their eyes on the escaping target, soon noticing the dragon beginning to descend, to fall. With a mental note as to where it'd likely be, they took off, quickly chasing through trees and bushes to make it to their target on time.

"Mo!" IF shouted. "Can you stop it in place?!"

"Well I'd love to!" A reply was soon delivered. "I'm still exhausted after yesterday, so sorry!"

"Save some breath for running!" Emril piped up.

In a whim, the dense tree-packed forest they were running through was gone, replaced with a sea of vibrant grass out in the open sky. The group slowed down after spotting the red lizard getting back up on its legs, its stance low and hostile like it was imitating a cat. Weapons in hand, the group stood a few meters away from each other, ready for the real fight to begin.

The beast's wings raised and spread wide, its rumbling morphed into another loud howl. It reeled back a little, only to dart its body forward slightly and spit out a ball of roaring fire, which headed directly towards the squad. All three hunters jumped away, barely evading the attack before it hit the ground. The ball of fire left behind nothing but a black stain and burning grass, flame beginning to spread.

The forest was _very_ not far away.

Morrow took notice, and immediately his daggers shifted into a pair of two blades of different sizes, the longer sword catching an icy cold aura. He stabbed the burning ground, and quickly a blanket of thin ice coated the earth. Any traces of the fireball damage was wiped clean.

"Aim for one of its legs!" IF hinted loudly, charging at the dragon. The brunette twirled with her katars, landing hit after hit on her target's front right leg. Intertwining horizontal slashes, diagonal slashes and spins caused the beast to swat its leg at Iffy. She dodged the incoming hit just in time before rushing towards the injured limb, delivering another series of precise hits. The dragon flapped its wings and lifted off the ground, spitting another ball of flame towards the agent.

Before IF could dodge, Emril stepped in front of her and thrust his left hand at the blaze. A strong wave of air moved with his telekinetic push, strong enough to block the oncoming fireball. Right after, the man aimed at the dragon's wing with his sawed-off shotgun and pulled the trigger. The impact was seen instantly: with a loud cry, the lizard fell to the soil, crashing down like a plane. Pulling itself back up on its legs, it felt weakness in the front right leg.

IF's hint was working.

Seeing Morrow in front of it, the dragon tried launching another fireball. But, after a bit of struggling, what came out of its mouth was completely different.

Upon seeing the oncoming projectile, the purple-eyed teen's face morphed in confusion. He rapidly ducked under the object, and then turned around to see where it landed, what it even was.

It was a frying pan.

"COVER YOUR EARS!" The guy's short moment of thinking ' _what the fuck'_ was cut short by Iffy's urgent callout. Following her advice, the lads pressed their hands against their ears, in anticipation as to why she'd tell them to do that.

Their question was answered.

And it was painful.

Finally having ridden itself of the suffocating ache, the dragon let out an ear-shattering shriek, its sound reminiscent of about a hundred banshees. All three hunters winced with their ears somewhat protected from the screech, Morrow still eyeing the thing that could've very well knocked him out. After a few seconds, it subsided.

A slight migraine and ringing ears met IF as she gently lowered her hands, alert as to avoid being deafened by another scream. The brunette stumbled and put her arms out, thrown off-balance, the world around her spinning. Managing to solidify her footing after a while, she blinked a few times and shook her head. Good news: the dragon was still there.

Bad news: it was absolutely livid.

Before Iffy could start constructing a plan of attack, her peripheral vision caught Emril sprinting towards the lizard. The man moved his right arm back, and quickly a light appeared, taking on a cylindrical shape similar to a stick. This cyan glow later formed an axe head, before disappearing and leaving behind a real weapon.

Emril gripped the axe's long handle and jumped, turning mid-air as he grabbed the weapon with another hand and drove the bit against the beast's leg. One slash after another, the final hit in his combo was interrupted by the dragon itself, which ran its wounded leg right into the man. Em immediately flew back, losing his clutch on the axe that vanished into thin air as soon as it appeared, and he hit the ground with a smack. He rolled backwards, his feet soon connecting the ground as the bearded axeman eyed the hostile beast.

' _Getting closer won't work,'_ a thought popped into IF's mind, and another one followed suit. The agent reached for her hip holster, quickly unbuckling it and grasping her pistol. Once the safeties were off, she fired shot after shot, one of the bullets causing the lizard's leg to finally give way. It collapsed on the ground, pained groans escaping its mouth as the dragon attempted to get back up without much success.

While the beast was trying to scramble back onto its legs, Morrow's ice blade pierced the earth again. His grip visibly tightened, the guy glued his intensely focused eyes to the lizard's head. More and more cold air and ice was appearing around the sword, the look on his face morphing from concentration to struggling which made it seem like he was trying to get the sword out of the ground. For a few seconds, he stood like that, and their crimson red target was still trying to get up.

But before the dragon could make a sound, a giant spike of ice pierced right through its head.

"Goodness…!" IF jumped, her emerald eyes staring at the supersized icicle in surprise.

"Yvmus, fuck…" A similar reaction came from Emril, who later turned away from the eliminated target and leaned onto his freshly materialized axe. The handle's throat was wrapped in a leather-like material, a black snake-like drawing decorating the body. Three intertwining triangles were on the bloodstained axe's cheek, and the eye featured black lines going in a decorative pattern.

The man stood in silence for a bit, then turned his head to face the impaled dragon head. He cracked a little smile, though his face was less amused and more taken aback. "...Remind me to not get on your bad side, then."

"It's dead, right...?" Morrow asked with heavy breaths, removing his auraless sword from the dirt. "That worked, did it?"

As if a direct answer to his question, a light started engulfing the beast's carcass. Quickly covering the whole body, the glow began to dim, eventually leaving behind nothing but a bit of trampled grass and little stains of blood. The dragon completely disappeared.

"...I guess it did," the purple-eyed teen uttered out, with a tinge of relief in his voice. He sheathed his swords and sat down on the grass, forearms resting on his knees. "Phew…"

"Way to make me feel bad about the dragon," Iffy commented sarcastically, flipping the safety on her gun and holstering it. She glanced at the nearby forest, before speaking matter-of-factly: "Good thing we avoided any potential forest fires, though. Well done, you two."

"Thanks…" The exhausted teen nodded.

"Appreciate the compliment," Emril replied with an honest smile. A memory popped into his head, he looked at Morrow. "We should probably check whatever that thing was the dragon spat at you. Just need to find it first."

"Uh, it should be-"

" _Penny, my dear!"_

All three hunters turned around at once, only to spot an adult man who was probably somewhere in his forties, in decent, albeit messy clothing. The stranger ran to the frying pan, picked it up and hugged it, like you would embrace a loved one. "Oh my Goddess, Penny, I've been so worried…! Please don't leave me like that ever again!"

"..." The party shot confused looks at each other.

After a surprisingly long scene reminiscent of a family reunion from a movie, the elderly man laid his eyes on the group. He quickly approached each hunter and gave them a firm thankful handshake. "Thank you good people so much for saving Penny, thank you, thank you, thank you! If there's anything I can do for you, you can tell me!"

"Um…" Emril let out a sound of pure uncertainty. "Y-Y'know, there's no need to fuss over us. You've, uh… You've your long lost... _love_ , so… Spend time with them instead, yeah? You probably have… a lot to catch up on."

"Ah, you're right, my life has a purpose again," the stranger held the pan against his chest with a big smile on his face. "Don't worry, sweetheart, I'll take even better care of you from now on… Goddess bless you all!" He called out before disappearing into the forest.

The group fell silent again.

"..."

"..."

"...Guess that's why the quest is about a pan, huh," Morrow muttered.

"Never seen someone stare so sensually at a skillet…" Emril's deeply concerned face didn't go anywhere. "Please don't tell me that's common around here."

IF's flabbergasted mug remained.

"... _We almost died for that!?"_

* * *

 **2:53 PM**

The quest has gone smooth as butter. Aside from fatigue on Morrow's part, nobody had suffered any serious injuries, and could easily get back to the Guild to retrieve the prize. The pay was good too, but compared to the heaps of coin they already had, it was nothing game-changing. One thing to look forward to for the group was the reward they'd receive for completing this task—'Blooming Hell'. The guys had no idea what it was, but the name sounded cool; IF, on the other hand, felt rather excited to get her hands on this item.

But first, they needed to return to the city. So they ordered a taxi, payment and everything.

And quickly realized that it was rush hour over in Planeptune. It wouldn't've been too big of a deal if not for the delay, though.

" _Two hours?_ " Emril's eyes narrowed as he looked at the map. A certain part of their route line had been highlighted in red, and next to it was a bubble that read:

 **Extremely heavy traffic**  
 _Estimated time to pass: 2h 13min_

"This is _one_ reason I didn't get a car or a bike yet," Morrow noted, arms crossed on his chest. "I hate waiting in these jams."

"We're better off walking the rest of the way," Iffy looked through the windshield to inspect a swarm of various cars and trucks on the road. "We won't be moving anytime soon with this traffic…"

"Anything that's not waiting," the purple-eyed teen got up from his seat.

"What he said," the bearded man tapped the 'Cancel Route' button on the screen before turning back to the sliding door. Mimicking the Guild veteran's swiping motion, the door reacted accordingly and drifted aside. Emril was quick to step out of the taxi, along with Morrow as the two guys found themselves in the midst of a vehicle sea, the path to a nearby pedway a jagged one.

IF certainly wasn't wrong: with a congestion this massive, any sort of movement would be one hell of an event. Peering around, Em took notice that they weren't the only ones exiting their ride: a few drivers had stepped out of cars to try and catch a glance of what was up ahead, what caused such a hold-up. Such jams weren't exactly common in Planeptune,—if anything, seeing one of this scale was rare—and when there was stoppage, it was most likely because of a car crash. This one, though, according to a nearby angry driver, was caused by the traffic lights acting up.

Nevertheless, the group had to walk the rest of the way. Fortunately, Iffy knew this city like the back of her hand.

"Don't worry, you two," the brunette addressed the lads, stepping out of the car later than them. "I know a shortcut that can get us to the Guild pretty quickly." IF smiled, before taking the lead and heading towards the sidewalk. The lads followed her, and before long, they were in the relative comfort of a more-or-less peaceful walkway and heading towards an alleyway. As soon as they entered it-

" _Hello there, faggots."_

Uh oh.

"Who's there?" The Guild veteran called out, turning around to see that the entrance they used to walk into the alley was now blocked off. Two guys stood in the way, holding a bat and a knife respectively, clear as day that their intentions were anything but good.

"Great." Morrow smiled sarcastically, his eyes caught a glimpse of the backstreet's other exit being obstructed too. "First monsters, now human trash."

"Oh look, we're interrupting a slut's party," The guy with the knife piped up. "Too bad we're gonna bash your fucking skulls right about now."

"Cheap talk isn't getting you anywhere," IF's eyes narrowed.

"We don't have all day, spit it out," Emril hissed. "What's your problem?"

"You're the dickhead that killed Ed, so we're gonna teach you to not fuck with us," the four aggressors began closing in on the surrounded trio.

"Oh, he's dead?" The bearded man asked, in a mocking sorry tone. "And you're getting your panties in a bunch because of it? Thanks for telling me, I'll make sure to spit on the guy's grave now. D'you mind sharing where he's buried?" He tilted his head, a provoking grin plastered on his face.

"I'm about to fucking bury _YOU,_ YOU **PIECE OF SHIT!** "

Emril heard the scream behind him. He turned around to see a guy charging, iron pipe in hand. Just as he retracted it for a swing, Em threw himself at the attacker, grappling him with an overhook. His other hand grasped the back of the enemy's collar as he kneed him in the stomach. The bearded man pulled the aggressor down on the ground, effectively disarming him. Just as he was about to swing a metal pipe at his foe's head, Emril was met with something hitting his abdomen, and roughly pushing him down to the pavement. Avoiding his head impacting the rough surface, he was quick to notice another assaulter, and a knife scarily close to his stomach. He hammered his hand against the knife wielder's chest, and a raucous thump rang through the alleyway.

A scream followed suit, as, like a rocket, the mugger violently flew several meters into the air. His knife slipping out of his hand, the guy was left to flail around in panic, which grew as he began nearing the ground. The assaulter crashed down onto the ground, catching everyone's attention, even if just for a second.

IF's gaze shifted to the fallen attacker momentarily, but even a moment was more than enough. The end of a 2x4 smacked against the brunette's midriff, before being promptly pressed on her neck. Her upper body was darted up, and rapidly shoved against a nearby brick wall, Iffy's head feeling the collision. The brunette's vision went hazy upon impact.

As soon as her eyesight sharpened, she was met with the face of one of the attackers, who was still forcing his weapon of choice against her body and limiting her breathing. His mug grew closer, a sick smile appearing as he said, almost whispered: "You'll be so much easier to fuck once you stop squirmi-"

That was more than enough to kick Iffy back into action. With immense strength, she raced her boot against the hostile's crotch, earning her a pained yelp. As the guy gripped his hurting twigs and berries, the brunette snatched the wood plank he had used to restrain her. With an antagonizing howl, she bashed the attacker's head with his own 2x4, the plank giving way under the impact which rendered it useless. He sagged down to the floor, unconscious.

Her attention was quickly grabbed by another yowl to her right. Her eyes turned to examine what it was, only to spot Morrow piercing another bandit's forearm, the attacker's other appendage barely clinging onto a baseball bat. As soon as the blademaster yanked his dagger through his enemy's arm, he cried out even louder, which was soon interrupted; As soon as the teen pulled out the sword from the massive injury, he bolted the knife's butt right into the attacker's temple. As the guy began falling down, Morrow gripped his gashed forearm and jerked it upward slightly, reigniting the pain. A quieter cry escaped the assaulter's lips before he, stunned and unable to handle the ache, fainted and collapsed onto the pavement.

Morrow's peripheral vision noticed another person snatching something from the ground, before running off. His purple eyes jumped to the direction this somebody was running, only for him to realize he was charging at Emril with a knife.

The bearded man dodged his enemy's downward left slash, but when he swung the knife to the right, Em stepped to the side and raised his forearms. Effectively stopping his attacker's arm dead in its tracks, he grabbed it with his right hand, and swung his left elbow at the hostile's head. Unfortunately missing, the knife wielder pulled the blade towards his unoccupied hand, struggling as Emril's grasp was rather sturdy. Taking notice of this, the man accentuated his enemy's movement, and plunged the knife into his abdomen.

The bandit wailed, staggering back a little as his eyes glued to the wooden handle sticking out of his midriff. He then felt two hands clutching his shoulders, and-

"EM, STOP!"

-the man's knee hit the knife's handle, driving the cutter so deep into the attacker's body that only the butt was sticking out. He gasped, the striker's hands visibly tensing up as he tried reaching for the tool jammed into his body. Very soon, though, his legs gave way, and the last mugger blacked out. Three of four assaulters were knocked out cold, with the fourth laying on the ground and unable to get up, having dropped from a good three meters.

"Good Goddess," Morrow muttered, palms resting on his knees as he examined what Emril had done. He let out a mix of chuckling and heavy breathing. "You stabbed the hell outta that guy, huh… shit."

Emril buried his mouth and nose in his hands, palms folded in a way that made it look like he was praying. With a few heaves, he scanned the alleyway, noticeably narrowing his eyes and wincing at the sight of a knife butt peeking out of someone's abdomen. The man lowered his head, hands forming a pistol shape as he slowly dropped them. He began gradually wagging his finger at the stabbed guy, with a clearly discomposed smile. "I… did _not_ mean to do that, hell's bells."

"Crap…" IF scanned the damage they had done, before quickly reaching for her phone. "OK, don't move them, I'm calling an ambulance…"

The brunette hastily entered her device's Dialer, and just as she was about to ring the EMS, she was interrupted by a vibrating sensation. Blinking, she looked at the text written on screen:

Compa~  
 _Incoming call_

Iffy tapped the phone icon and brought the device to hear ear. She smiled, despite still being next to several potentially dying bandits: "Perfect timing, Compa."

" _Hm? Were you looking for me?"_

"Yeah, I was just about to get an ambulance on the phone, but then you called."

" _Oh, OK- Wait, an ambulance!? What happened, are you all right?!"_

"Oh, nothing, nothing! Don't worry, I just ran into a… a little accident, but it's not for me."

" _Mmm… Promise you aren't hiding anything from me?"_

"Yeah, yeah, I promise, but… it's kind of urgent. Think you could send a medical team quickly from where you are?"

" _No problem! I still haven't left the hospital, so it should be easy peasy. Where are you right now?"_

"Oh, where? Um… remember that alleyway we sometimes use to get to the Guild? The one on… let me see… The one on Delta Street, 4?"

" _Ah yeah, the shortcut we take when we're super pooped after doing quests! Okie, I'll send someone right up."_

"Great! Thanks," she beamed sincerely. IF brought her phone down, putting it away inside its cozy holster. The brunette turned to her teammates, as she tried addressing them.

"Got someone?" Emril beat her to it.

"Mhm," Iffy nodded. "Compa's workplace isn't too far from here, so the car should arrive pretty soon."

"So… we done here?" Morrow glanced at the brunette, still a little shocked at the outcome of the attack.

IF's expression shifted: the happy smile flipped upside down as she shot the teen a dissatisfied look. "Well, usually I'd make sure that everything is sorted out before leaving, but… I don't think I can let Compa wait much longer, not to mention that these guys likely won't be going anywhere anytime soon. We'll just have to leave this to the medics once they arrive here."

"We also need to pick up the Guild reward," the bearded man reminded. "Went through all this trouble and all, it'd be nice to have some sort of compensation."

"In before Blooming Hell is a thing only one of us can use properly," Morrow commented in a slightly annoyed tone, starting to follow his companions out of the alleyway. "Burning Hell, whatever that thing's called."

"Morrow, I'm fine with just the coin, at least this mess of a day's gonna be rewarded somehow…"

Their voices trailed off as the two lads headed for the Guild, but IF slowed down while they were exiting the backstreet. Her eyes lingered on the crime scene, a sight that would leave a normal citizen grabbing at their head in shock, possibly disgust. The brunette sighed, shaking her head slightly: Iffy hoped that Compa wouldn't have to tend to the injuries she partook in inflicting.

She snapped her head towards the lads' backs, starting to catch up with them. ' _Just self-defense, IF, they started it. There was nothing you could do about it,'_ the Guild veteran comforted herself, trying to shrug the event off for now.

The walk to the building was a short one, thankfully uninterrupted. After a quick exchange, Emril and Morrow quieted down, leaving the group silent. Once they all entered the Guild, Em let out a short sigh as he felt cool, conditioned air wash over him, and Morrow visibly relaxed. They approached the terminal row, and turned the quest in, soon ordered by the screen to approach a nearby reward table. Each of them received a message about 2500CR being transferred to their credit cards, and a package was handed out to them by one of the Guild workers.

The same lady let the trio know that the award was most fitting for Iffy to accept, as it was an outfit. This left the two guys a little surprised: costumes had actual names now? You could find a suit in a store and see something along the lines of ' _Blooming Hell'_ on the price tag?

Nevertheless, they followed the brunette to the changing rooms that were just past the award tables. Both leaned against walls that separated IF's dressing room from the others, scrolling their phones. Peeking up from his display, Von Liris spied that his lad's lips were tightly pressed together, eyebrows a little furrowed. Morrow _did_ seem peeved at the idea of their reward only going to one person, but wearing clothes that mainly fit girls likely didn't sit well with him, either. For Emril, he was just glad he received _something_ in return.

"Lucky Lastationese," the teen mumbled under his breath, an amused smirk looking at the screen. Aware that he caught Em's attention, he flipped the phone's display to face him.

 **Laguna City, Lastation**  
Friday, 15:00  
 _Thunderstorm  
_ 23°C / 73°F

"Ooh, nice," Emril nodded at the sight. "Does it often rain here, actually?"

"Well, it's not Leanbox, I hear that storm clouds just don't exist down there," Morrow started, " but it's mostly sunny here. Lastation often has most of the rain, and Lowee up in the north is a snowy country."

"Glad I wound up here, then," the bearded man turned his phone off, looking at his friend with a little smile. "I hate snow."

"Really?" The teen raised his eyebrows. "But you can throw it at people and build snowmen out of it!"

"I'm not a fan of having to wrap myself in a kajillion coats just to not get a little cold when I'm out," Em chuckled slightly.

Morrow glanced at Emril's current attire, head tilted. "So what you're wearing now is any different?"

"It's quite literally just this," the marked man slightly tugged at the cloth of his ruby red gambeson, which was buried under the multitude of buckles and belts, "and some light armor. It's not jacket on a jacket on a jack-"

The curtain obscuring the changing booth slid aside. The guys shifted their gazes to IF, whose appearance had changed rather drastically.

The green leaf bow in her long brown hair was gone, now she wore a simple yellow bowtie that kept her side tail intact. A square white eyepatch rested directly above the brunette's right peeper, the Guild veteran had likely found no point in putting it on. Her upper body wore a black school blazer, fully buttoned all the way to her neck, where another bow was tied, this one colored a crimson red. Under the jacket was a white shirt, though barely visible thanks to the ribbon. Her right hand was covered in snow white, clean bandages, leaving only her fingers bare. The cloth swirled around Iffy's hand, before disappearing under her sleeve. Her lower body wore a skirt, showcasing checkered red, black, and white lines. The end of it was completely white, and on her left side was a little iron cross. Said cross was attached to a chain which was obscured by the blazer. The skirt almost reached down low enough to cover her bare thighs, which were mainly clothed with black thigh-high socks. To finish off, her feet showcased regular shoes, painted a nice black and grey.

If IF's usual appearance made her seem like a mercenary, now she looked nothing short of a chuuni school girl.

"Well, how do I look?" The girl asked, with a pinch of pride in her voice and a hand on her hip.

"You were given a school uniform for killing a dragon." Morrow deadpanned, his arms dropped down. He cracked a little grin.

"I like it," Emril said, having taken a few steps back to check out his friend's new look better. "It suits you, and it's generally quite stylish. I _am_ curious about that eyepatch, though…" His eyes narrowed as the man focused on the white cloth on Iffy's forehead. "Seems a little out of place to me, but overall, looks nice."

"It came with the rest, I'm not sure why it's here," IF reached behind her head, and a _pop!_ sound resonated from there. The ribbon holding the blindfold loosened, and soon the patch came off. The agent brought her hand forward, holding the thing by one of the ends and looking at it.

"Looks like something you'd see a patient wear if they lost an eye," the purple-eyed teen voiced a thought. "Maybe your nurse bestie should keep it."

"Hmm… Compa might find some use to it, you're right," Iffy folded the eyepatch and hid it in one of her new blazer's pockets. The brunette grabbed her smartphone, quickly unlocking it: "Speaking of Compa, I should go pick her up. One second…"

She tapped the icon that had a light grey background, and a black minimalistic motorcycle in the center. The app opened, revealing its name to be ' _Wheelies'_. A few seconds passed before the greeting screen was replaced with a list of options, which proved to be rather small: only one.

To the left of the single option was a small picture of a sports motorbike, and to its right the iron horse's model name: _Yamasaki UC160A._ IF pressed on the display again, and a pop-up greeted her, asking if the Guild veteran was sure she wanted her bike to drive to the building they were in. She accepted, and a white box on the top of the phone display read:

 _Got it. Your bike will arrive in a sec._

"There. So, what're you two going to do now?" Iffy glanced up at her colleagues, flashing them a smile.

"Probably go home, I'm a little dead after today," Morrow admitted, rubbing his forehead. The teen turned his head towards Emril: "You can come along if you want to. I got room."

"Do you even have a bed?" The bearded man threw a quip, with a smile half-curious, and half-joking.

"I bought the apartment before I stopped sleeping, Em, so you don't need to worry," he nodded reassuringly. The guy then eyed Iffy curiously: "Your bike on the way?"

"Yep," she nodded, heading out of the dressing rooms and towards the Guild's double doors. "It shouldn't take too long for it to get here."

Surprised, Emril slightly widened his eyes at the agent. "Bike?" He asked with a pinch of enthusiasm, the same kind he had emitted when he had bought his phone.

"You'll see it yourself in a moment," IF proudly stated, pushing open the glass doors and leading her male companions outside. Soon after they exited, a green sports motorcycle slowly rolled on the side of the road, before coming to a stop. It had an emerald green body that fully covered the front of the bike, the only part of the vehicle left unobscured being under the seat. There was a rather big exhaust pipe on its right side, the side visible to the brown-haired trio, facing slightly upwards.

Emril eyed the motorbike with great interest. "Aha, so you're into sport bikes. Gotta say, I love the design, though off-road must be awful with that thing."

"I rarely go off-road," Iffy shrugged. "I just need a way to quickly get around the city, and this baby is perfect for that."

IF walked to her motorbike and straddled it, then turned on the ignition. The iron horse growled as the brunette turned her head to Emril and Morrow. She waved them goodbye: "Take care, you two."

"Later," Em lifted a hand and showed a peace sign, meanwhile Morrow simply waved back. Iffy sped off on the Yamasaki towards Planeptune Central Hospital, where she would pick up Compa and drive her to their home.

The purple-eyed guy looked at his lad: "Let's go?"

"Let's," Emril nodded.

* * *

 **6:23 PM**

" _Brand new Nep Bull with pomegranate flavor! For when you want to stop being a sleepy panda and Nep things up, Planeptune style!"_

Emril could go for a Nep Bull right now. A few of them, maybe.

He and Morrow had sat themselves down on his white couch and turned on the TV soon after they arrived to the teen's apartment. The walls to their sides and behind them brandished a warm marigold orange color, the one in front of them seaweed green. The remote lay on a glass coffee table less than a meter away from the sofa and standing on a grey carpet, further ahead of them on a separate, wooden table, stood the telly. The overhead lights were turned off, a lonely lamp in a corner and the idiot box being the only sources of light in the living room. To both sides of the television, like guards at a castle door, stood two tall bookcases, decorated with a few papers, maps and, in some places, differently-colored shirts.

"Pomegranate's not even that good," Morrow commented, sipping from a blueberry-flavored Nep Bull. "I tried it once, and it's just ew."

"I can't remember the last time I even had an energy drink," Emril shrugged. "Must've been back in the academy days before the entire mess went down."

"I got a few in the fridge if you want," the teen pointed towards his kitchen, which was behind an open door. "With the Guild compensation, I could even buy a separate mini bar just for them. I down more energy drinks than water, anyways."

Em shot a thoughtful look towards the kitchen. Then he got up and walked towards it, disappearing behind the doorway for a few minutes. Morrow heard sounds of his refrigerator opening and closing, the latter accompanied by a light thump, as Emril soon returned to the living room and dropped down on the sofa. He cracked open a cold Nep Bull, and took a little nip.

"Mm," he moved his head back, eyes closed and corners of his mouth turned up into a pleased smile. "That's good stuff..."

"So what about the 'academy days'?" Morrow crooked an eyebrow.

Emril waved at the lad with the hand that was holding his Nep Bull. "Long story, really."

"We aren't hurrying anywhere," he shrugged.

"Good point," the bearded man nodded to himself, smiling a little. "Well, where do I start…

"I wasn't always like I am now, truth be told. This thing," Emril moved his free palm to showcase two markings engraved to the left side of his face, almost like a brand, "wasn't always here. Way back in my teens or so, I was really just a guy with about… two friends, and a passion for tech. Kind of got around on my own for a while, since I moved away from my parents…"

"Esterburg?" Morrow asked. Em threw an 'Mhm' in response.

"Lived there, moved to Ashborne to study."

"What were you studying, again…?"

"IT security."

"Why'd you move there, then?" The teen looked at him confusedly. "I thought Anbulas was the place to go for tech geeks."

"It's also notorious for price tags that make people cry," Emril cracked a smirk. "Ashborne wasn't too far, and it was quite affordable, plus Eastview Academy had some of the best IT guys and girls, almost on a par with Anbulas."

Em sighed, and turned his head towards the kitchen. "Shame everything there's dead now. Parents must be worried sick about me back home."

"Search party?"

"Only if you believe in a group of skeletons walking around a ghost city with flashlights and funny accents."

" _Yeeeeeh! We are the mmmmmmighty Spook Brigade! Mister Bone-Jangles, McRrrrribs, Skinny Skully and meee, the grrrrrreat Eskel! From Ylia to Grreville, from Strrrand to Ashborne, we will spook allll of Idlehaven! Yahahaaaaaa!"_

"I hate you," Emril shook his head at Morrow, suppressing a broad grin. "You're a bad person."

"You walked right into that one, I just had to say it," the teen chuckled, before taking a swig from the blueberry Nep Bull can and effectively emptying it. He weakly shook it side to side, met with no weight at all except for the tin can and a faint sound of very little liquid running back and forth. Morrow got up from the couch with a small groan, and went to the kitchen to throw the tin out. Emril finished his drink and followed suit.

"Any bets on what's gonna be with those four guys we beat the ever living crap out of?" The marked nomad asked curiously.

"Two guys dead, one with probably a cracked skull thanks to IF, and anotherrrr…" Morrow trailed off, looking up at a cupboard confusedly as if he tried to piece something together. "...You yoinked a guy into the air and he fell down, I think that's a few broken ribs and possibly nose."

"So he technically could come back and bite us in the ass?" Emril raised an eyebrow.

"He won't," the purple-eyed lad went back into the living room, Em in tow. "Unless he is that much of a jackass, I don't think the guy's gonna do anything."

"Here's hopin'."

"Oh, yeah, Chibi Soldiers is on soon. Wanna watch it?"

"Sure."

* * *

 **3:14 PM**

"Merciful Lady Purple Heart…" The medic winced upon laying his eyes on the four bodies in the alleyway.

His colleague approached a nearby body, which wore a grey tee-shirt stained with blood… and the butt of a knife protruding out of his waist. "Goodness," she mumbled, laying a hand against the person's neck. Very faint. The woman glanced at her partner. "Get the stretcher."

"Aye aye," the guy paced towards the back of their ambulance truck, and quickly opened its doors.

"How bad is it back there?" The driver queried.

"Four unconscious males, two of them in critical condition," the doc listed, taking hold of one of the medical trolleys and rolling it out of the med truck.

"Four…?" The car's chauffeur opened his side window and peered outside. "I count three. Lost someone?"

The medic's gaze sharpened as he rapidly turned around.

One of the men was missing. He had gotten up while the doctors weren't looking his way, and, despite the pain in his chest reigniting with every move and his bloodied face, stumbled off.

The lads were gone. He wasn't going to let them take him as well.

Despite his still unclear vision, the escapee spotted another alleyway intertwining with the one he was in now, and a dumpster standing against a wall. Quickly barging into it and hiding behind the garbage box, the man leaned against a brick barrier, flinching again at the ache caused by his broken rib. He slowly slid down, feet giving way under the pressure and making him sit down on the pavement.

The guy sat there, breathing, thinking where the hell to take this. He spat blood to the side, and his peripheral vision caught something near his right thigh. Something grey and round. His eyes looked down.

It was indeed a grey ball, with eight little cylinders poking out here and there. There was a stripe of blue light going through the sphere's middle, and on the top of this device was a little red button.

The man slowly picked it up, turning it around and eyeing it pensively.

He knew where to take this now.

"Sucker threw me," a mutter escaped the runaway's lips. "I'll fucking show 'im."

He pressed the button, and threw the monster spawner to the side. The stripe of blue turned orange, beginning to blink.

Twenty hours.


End file.
